Bombshells: The Aftermath
by purplemintpatty
Summary: No Summary and not a Huddy!
1. Chapter 1

_**RE-POSTING FOR GRAMMATICAL CORRECTIONS (HOPE I GOT 'EM ALL!) AND MINOR TWEAKING.**_

After watching DS and crew's offering of the House episode "Bombshells" and based on two previews I've seen for the next episode, this is my fan fiction take on what should happen next for House.

I'm not too pleased that DS and company have chosen to shove House ten steps back into at least a serious relapse after he went through so much to get clean. Yes, I know addicts have relapses, but the "creative writers" of the show decided to let "The Big Break Up" send House into a tailspin to end all tailspins. Anyone who has a story posted here, even those who specialize in Huddy, could have done a better job.

To that end, I'm bringing one of my OC's, Lucy (Wilson's half sister) out of her story into this one. To know the cast of characters in this fic and get the details of their relationships, you should read Greg and Lucy A Love Story, also posted here, after you read this. There are a few spoilers here for that story, and I apologize to my readers, but I needed some of those details for this story.

Usual disclaimers (and I'm only saying it once!): House and company belong to David Shore and Bad Hat Harry Productions. Some canon involved and the time line may be a bit skewed, but the story around it and the OC's are mine!

_**CHAPTER ONE**__** - Prologue**_

_**Orlando, Florida, March 15**__**th**__**, 2011**_

Lucy Mazzelli slammed the phone in her kitchen down hard. Damn Jim any way! He had just called her to tell her Greg had jumped from a hotel balcony into the pool below after going on a bender because Cuddy broke up with him. Not that it was Lucy's business anymore, but what the hell had he been doing with Cuddy in the first place?

He was in the hospital, under suicide watch, but he wasn't restrained or in the Psychiatric ward. He was in a private room, mildly sedated and in plain sight of the nurse's station while all the booze and whatever else had had been binging on cleared his system. He acknowledged your presence in the room, paid attention to you, but had refused to utter one word to anyone since he had been admitted.

Jim gave her more bad news (as if that wasn't enough). Greg's Vicodin addiction had earned him a stint in a psychiatric hospital a little over two years earlier and he almost lost his medical license. Of course, Lucy knew after the fact that Greg had had an infarction in his leg and surgery he didn't want and was taking Vicodin because of the pain, but she had no clue as to how badly addicted he had become. Her family, on their own or at Greg's insistence, had only fed her bits and pieces of what was really going on in Princeton.

Lucy hadn't been back to Princeton since the divorce except to visit her parent's graves. She was still in love with Greg and knew it would hurt her too much to see him, even briefly, especially if he was with someone else. Even though he would never say it, he hated being alone, and she would never deny him anything that would make him happy.

Jim had had a long conversation with Greg's psychiatrist from Mayfield and they agreed that Lucy might be the only one able to reach Greg even though they hadn't spoken to each other for several years. Now he was begging her to take emergency family leave get on the first flight she could and to let him know when she would arrive. He would take her to Aunt Loretta and Uncle Tony's house and he give her all the details he could before they met with Dr. Nolan and then went to see Greg.

Lucy didn't know whether to be furious at not being told everything until it was almost too late or blame herself for everything that happened to Greg since they divorced in 2000. God, had it been that long ago? They had been so happy until her parents were killed by a drunk driver. The entire family had been stunned by the senseless loss of Frank and Lina, but they got through the worst of it because they supported each other. The problem was that Lucy didn't realize it affected Greg worse than it had her or her brother until it was too late. Lucy started thinking about how their romance started and what made their marriage disintegrate.

When Greg moved to Princeton in 1997, her parents had taken him into their home and accepted him as family. After a few months, Greg began to realize that these people accepted him flaws and all. He could be himself, no longer feeling like an outsider. He began "courting" Lucy and they carried on their affair behind her parent's backs (or so they thought) for almost eight months before Greg convinced Lucy they should elope instead of waiting for her to finish her residency to get married. He knew he wouldn't be able to avoid a church wedding, but he wanted Lucy as his wife and didn't want to wait that long. They eloped to Virginia and Lucy's parents couldn't have been happier to have him as their son-in-law.

Lucy and Greg had been married a little over a year and a half when they found out she was going to have a baby. Everyone was over joyed because they knew the odds were against Lucy getting pregnant and carrying a baby full term. Unfortunately, she lost the baby about fourteen weeks into the pregnancy. Lucy was devastated, but got through it. Their lives had just returned to normal when Frank and Lina were killed, their car hit head on by a drunk truck driver.

Greg stood stoically and protectively by his young wife at the funeral. Lucy was practically catatonic, going through the motions like a robot. Inside, Greg was dying. He had come to view Frank and Lina as his parents and he was floundering again. He had been closer to Frank and Lina than his own parents, whom he avoided whenever he could.

After the funeral, Lucy and Greg tried to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, at least Lucy did, but Greg just wasn't there for her or anyone else for that matter. When he wasn't working, he was hitting the bottle pretty hard. Lucy let most of it slide because she was hurting inside herself and prayed that the worst of the pain would pass quickly for both of them. She didn't know what else to do. She tried talking to Greg, but he would just make himself another drink and walk away from her. No one realized the agony the two of them were going through because they were so good at keeping their emotions off their faces.

To make matters worse, she wasn't quite finished with her residency and her crazy schedule was annoying to Greg, even though there was less than a month left to it now. Instead of him coming to the hospital when she worked odd shifts and finding an empty room to make love in, he wanted her home when he was.

Their love life, which had be indescribably good from the beginning, suffered big time. No more hot quick trysts in the hospital. They were two intimate strangers sharing the same bed, going through the motions of love. Lucy never refused Greg, no matter how tired she was, what he wanted or what mood she was in.

Then came the night when she had to work later than usual and came home and found Greg in the family room, drunk as usual. She quietly tried to get him up and to bed. This wasn't the first time she had to go through this, another thing she was too embarrassed to tell her family about. Lucy usually managed to get him on his feet and upstairs and into bed, but tonight was different. Always belligerent when he drank, tonight he became verbally abusive with her, something he had never been. Ever.

There was no point in trying to talk to him or get him to bed when he was in this mood, so she picked up the room as he poured himself another drink from the bottle at his elbow.

He managed to get himself up and said to Lucy, "A toast!" he shouted as he raised his glass of bourbon in the air.

Lucy turned quickly. She thought he had passed out. She just stood there staring at him, not knowing what to do or what would happen next. For the first time since she had known him, she was afraid of him. She kept her mouth shut.

"To Princess Lucy! Poor, poor Princess Lucy. Doesn't know how to be a wife because she lost her parents and there's no one around to tell her how to take care of her husband anymore. Wouldn't even change her name for him Hah! She can't even give him a good screw anymore! What a waste of time this marriage is!" Greg said with a drunken shout.

The look on his face was pure evil.

He might as well have stabbed her. She dropped the things she had picked up as her hands covered her mouth in shock and horror. As compatible as they were, Lucy just realized now how deeply her parent's death had affected him, that this what all the drinking was about. She should have seen it sooner, but she was hurting and trying to heal herself while trying to talk to the brick wall her husband had become and help him as well. They should have been helping each other.

"Greg, what are you talking about, what do you mean I'm not taking care of you? I don't now how to take care of you without my parents around? I've always been here for you! I don't care how drunk you are! You're not being fair!" Lucy said in a shaky voice, refusing to cry.

"You heard me, Lucy. Our life together is a joke. I made a mistake. I should have never married you!" Greg said as he sat back down and chugged the rest of his drink.

Lucy was speechless. Though drunk, Greg had deliberately played into her fears that she was too young and inexperienced to be his wife. She hurried out of the room and upstairs to their room and locked the door. She leaned against the door as she finally let the tears fall.

"He had no right to say that!" Lucy said to herself as the tears rolled down her face. "I've been a good wife."

Downstairs, Greg realized what he had said to his wife and how deeply he had hurt her. He shouldn't have lashed out at her, he should have just told her how much he was hurting too. Why wouldn't the words come out? He had always found comfort in her arms and that's what he wanted. In hindsight, he also knew that she had been trying to comfort both of them when they should have been comforting each other, but he was too busy burying his own pain in a bottle to notice. He was just having a pity party for himself. He had to fix this. He couldn't live without Lucy.

By the time he made it upstairs, Lucy had gone into the bathroom to cry where Greg wouldn't hear her. She didn't want to deal with an angry drunk anymore tonight.

Greg tried the door. It was locked. Knocking on the door, he begged to be let in. "Lucy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it. Please let me in." Greg said from the other side of the locked door.

Lucy could hear him but wouldn't let him in. She didn't even answer him. She took her shower and got into bed, still crying.

Out in the hall, Greg slowly slid down against the wall, still begging Lucy to let him in. Nothing. He finally passed out on the floor.

Lucy got very little sleep that night. The next morning, she got up and quietly got dressed, holding a cold wash rag on her eyes to take away some of the swelling her crying had caused, but the only thing that would help the swelling go down was time.

She quietly unlocked the bedroom door and almost tripped over Greg where he was sprawled on the floor. She caught herself and went to make a pot of coffee and some breakfast for him, putting a plate of bacon, eggs and toast in the oven to stay warm. Then she called her cousin Tony and asked him to draw up divorce papers for her.

"Lucy! What happened!" Tony was shocked. He and his wife had gone to Virginia and stood up for Greg and Lucy when they eloped.

"Tony, I'll tell you when I get to your office. I'm off today, I'll be there in an hour."

Lucy made a few phone calls and left the house quickly before Greg woke up.

When Lucy got to her cousin's office, his assistant took her straight back to the conference room.

"Lucy, what's going on? What happened? Did he hit you?" Lucy had taken her sunglasses off and her eyes were still swollen from all the crying she had done. Tony was shocked at her appearance and tried to look for bruises.

"Tony, he didn't hit me. If you don't believe me, get your assistant in here and I'll take my clothes off. Just draw up papers for a no fault divorce. I made a big mistake marrying him. It's over. I don't want anything from him at all. I'm accepting a fellowship in Orlando, Celebration Health. I'll be leaving Princeton for good in three weeks.

"Lucy, are you sure this isn't an impulse? Have you tried to work things out? What about the house?" Tony asked his cousin gently. He had never seen Lucy in a state like this.

"The only thing I've ever done on impulse is marry Greg. Of course I've tried talking to him, Tony! He won't talk to me! Do you think I give a damn about that house? The life I had planned for, thought I had, is over! Do you think I can live there alone now? Without Greg or Mom and Dad? Let Greg keep it. Jim can live there, or you sell it and donate the money to the hospital in my parent's name, whatever you think is best. I don't care anymore. You and your father have my power of attorney. Take care of it. Draw up those divorce papers now. I want to make a clean break. Make sure you give me the papers to legally change my name back to Mazzelli." Lucy said in a determined voice, trying not to break down in front of her cousin.

"If that's what you want, I'll start them now and you can sign them and I'll take them over to the hospital this afternoon for Greg's signature. I'll use the hospital's notary and file the papers. As long as Greg doesn't contest this, it should be final in about a month." Tony said while dialing for his assistant, asking her to draw up the necessary papers and bring them in for Lucy's signature.

As Lucy started to sign the papers, tears came to her eyes as she remembered Greg taunting her about not changing her name. When they got married, it was more his idea than hers that she be "Dr. Mazzelli" at the hospital in honor of her father, who had stood behind her choice of becoming a doctor. Lucy wanted to hyphenate her last name, paying tribute to her father as well as her new husband, but Greg had convinced her not to.

Lucy wiped the tears from her face and deliberately and neatly signed each paper Tony handed her with her legal name - "Lucia Anna House". Tony's assistant notarized each paper as Lucy signed them. She wrote a check for the filing fees and left, asking her cousin to make sure the filing wasn't made public. She had more business to take care of and was glad it was her day off. She wouldn't have to be around to see Greg's reaction to her asking for a divorce until she finished the list of things she needed to do to get ready to leave town.

Lucy worked fast. She went to a real estate office with connections in Orlando and quickly picked out a two bedroom townhouse with an attached garage and pool. She thought the price was a bit high, but money wasn't an issue, never was for her or her family, even less so now.

After her parents were killed, Uncle Tony filed a lawsuit on behalf of the entire family against the employer of the truck driver who had hit them head on. Not only was he drunk, but he had a hooker in the cab with him and she was giving him a blow job while he was driving. They came out of it without so much as a scratch, but Frank and Lina died from massive internal injuries soon after they were brought into the hospital.

The quick financial settlement effectively put the trucking company out of business, but the owner didn't regret it. He had been lax in his hiring policies and he deserved to be bankrupt because of it.

After Lucy left the realtor's office, she went to a local moving company to get what she needed to start packing. She would buy furniture when she got to Florida.

By the time she got home, Greg was there, holding the papers in his hand.

"Lucy, I'm sorry about last night. I don't want a divorce. I want to try and work this out" Greg said quietly.

It was just a statement, actually the beginning of an apology. He remembered every hurtful word he had said to her last night, childishly playing on her fears that she was too inexperienced for someone like him. He also felt guilty that she had cried so much her eyes were still swollen. He wanted to put his arms around her and make all the pain go away for both of them. He took a step toward her, but something in Lucy's posture told him to keep his distance. He would have to try and reason with her.

"I'm sorry, Greg. I can't do this anymore. I know we've been through a lot in the last few months, but I've been trying to talk to you, trying to get you to tell me exactly what's wrong or what I've done wrong and all you've done is make yourself another drink and push me away. I didn't understand why until last night. My parent's death is affecting you as bad or worse than it did me." Lucy's voice started to crack and she stopped talking, trying to compose herself.

"We're both hurting," she went on after a few seconds. "but you're not being fair to me when I'm trying to help you. If your solution is to crawl into a bottle instead of talking every time something goes wrong, we don't have a marriage. We're just two strangers sharing a bed now. Drunk or not, you were right last night. It was a mistake for us to get married in the first place. I don't want anything from you and you can have the house. I've accepted a fellowship in Florida. You'll be shed of me by the end of the month." Lucy said as she turned from Greg, tears falling down her face again.

She got some boxes out of her car and went upstairs to start packing. Greg just sat down at the kitchen table, staring straight ahead. His life was over. Every word Lucy had spoken was true. She was hurting too, but she had kept trying to reach out to him and he had been stubbornly ignoring every effort she had made, although he did try to stop her from leaving right up to the day she left. Unfortunately, his attempts were made while he was drunk.

Lucy's mind quickly returned to the present, not wanting to recall how miserable she was when she first moved to Florida, completely alone for the first time in her life. In many ways, she was still miserable, but she pushed those feelings down to survive. Greg needed her now. She felt like she had failed him somehow when she divorced him.

Lucy didn't know if she could help undo some of the damage life itself had done to their relationship and marriage, but she owed it to Greg and herself to try and undo what she herself did by divorcing him.

Lucy called her boss and said she had to go back to Princeton to deal with a family emergency and needed at least a month of family leave time. Her boss emailed her the paperwork, Lucy printed it, signed it and scanned it back. She wouldn't hear from HR until sometime tomorrow. She picked up the phone and called the airlines, booking a first class ticket into Philly.

The last phone call was to her brother, telling him when her flight was arriving. Lucy asked her brother if he had a key to Greg's apartment so she could stay there.

"Lucy, I have a spare key, but why do you want to stay there and not with Aunt Loretta?" he asked.

"Listen, Jim, you and the family have chosen to keep most of Greg's problems from me until now. Why? To piss me off or blame me for everything that happened to him since I left? I already blame myself. I don't need anyone else blaming me. Just because I divorced him doesn't mean I stopped loving him. I still do. If I had even an inkling of how bad things were, I would have crawled back to Princeton on my hands and knees to help him. I'm really pissed at all of you for keeping me in the dark. Do you really think it's a good idea for me to stay with Aunt Loretta and fight with her about what I've done in the past or might do down the road? I don't think Greg will object to me staying in his apartment." Lucy snapped at her brother. "Do you know who holds his medical proxy now?"

"I do, Lucy. Why?" Jim asked.

"I want to see all of his medical records, even the ones from Mayfield and the psychiatrist." she snapped at her brother again.

"Lucy, do you think . . .?" Jim started to ask.

"Look, Jim, I need to see those records. You've missed something physically and mentally with Greg because you were always judgmental as far as he was concerned. You judged him guilty without the benefit of a trial. I always expected him to be himself, I never judged him. Get me those records! And get me temporary privileges at PPTH, I don't care how you do it. " Lucy hissed at her brother and hung up on him. She packed and sent a text message to one of her co-workers to house sit for her. Lucy spent a sleepless night.


	2. Chapter 2

_**CHAPTER TWO **__**- Getting The Facts**_

_**Mid-afternoon, Saint Patrick's Day, ten days post Bombshells. Philadelphia airport.**_

Lucy spotted Jim standing by a newsstand in the terminal before he spotted her. He finally noticed her and he hurried over to her. He tried to hug her, but she deliberately kept her distance because she was still pissed off at him and she was curious about the man with him.

Standing next to her brother was a distinguished looking black man that she didn't know and Jim was taking his time introducing her. Lucy hadn't gotten more than eight hours of sleep since her brother had told her about Greg. She was a walking zombie and no amount of caffeine was going to lighten her mood. She took her crankiness out on her brother.

"Do you intend to be rude and not introduce me to your friend or do I have to do it myself?"

Dr. Darryl Nolan smothered a smile. Dr. Wilson had not been exaggerating one tiny bit when he talked about his sister. He could see why Greg had fallen for her in the first place and how embarrassed Jim was at Lucy's outburst, so he just stepped in the gap and introduced himself.

"Dr. Mazzelli" he said with a smile as he extended his had. "I'm Dr. Darryl Nolan. I treated Greg when he was in Mayfield Hospital and for a short time after. I'm afraid he discontinued our sessions before he should have. Your brother tells me you requested to see his medical records as well as his psychiatric ones. That might be a violation of doctor-patient privilege, but even so, I think for Greg's welfare, it's necessary for you to see them. I have them here, but I would like to actually discuss the file with you as well." He held out a folder to Lucy.

Lucy wasn't the least bit embarrassed by her outburst. She took Nolan's proffered hand first and said, "Please call me Lucy, Dr. Nolan. And thank you very much for these notes and talking to me. Please don't take this as an insult, but I might get something from them that you missed. Greg and I were very close at one time." Lucy gave him her brightest smile.

Nolan looked at her closely as did Jim. It wasn't too hard to figure out she was exhausted and probably hungry, too.

"Lucy, why don't we find a quiet restaurant near here where we can discuss these notes and Greg." Dr. Nolan said.

"It's Saint Patrick's Day, Dr. Nolan!" Lucy said with a laugh. "Finding a restaurant is easy. Quiet is another story, but I'm willing to take a shot at it if you are. Jim, why don't you have good ideas like that? And where are the rest of Greg's medical records?" Lucy asked her brother.

"Lucy, the file is in my car. Give me your suitcase and we'll have an early dinner." Jim said, thankful Nolan had been smart enough to not let Lucy explode.

Lucy sat in the back seat of Jim's card, perusing Dr. Nolan's file as he drove to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. They got seated at a corner booth right before the dinner rush. There were a few people there getting a jump on the Saint Patrick's Day drinking, but they were a fairly subdued bunch. Ruth's Chris wasn't an establishment known for rowdy crowds, even on Saint Patrick's Day.

Lucy ordered a chicken dish and Jim and Dr. Nolan ordered steak.

"Lucy, you're in a steakhouse, why did you order chicken?" Jim asked, thinking Lucy wasn't mad anymore. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Lucy glared at her brother and said, "Every time I order a steak and ask for it to be cooked well done, some one gives me grief about it. I'm really not in the mood for that right now." Lucy closed her mouth as the waitress brought their drinks.

Dr. Nolan started the conversation after their waitress brought their food.

"Lucy, have you noticed a theme running through my session notes?" he asked.

"Yes, I do, and I'm not sure I understand it. This is worse than Greg was when he moved here. He would tell me some things about his past, about why he felt like he didn't deserve to be happy, but he only went to a certain point. I though my loving him would be enough to get him over that, and for awhile it was." Lucy said sadly.

"Very observant, Lucy" replied Nolan. He had mulled it over and deliberately left out the notes about Greg revealing who his biological father was. He was almost positive Lucy didn't know and didn't want her to feel anymore responsible for Greg than she already did.

"Now you say you thought loving him would help him, yet you divorced him. Why? Did you stop loving him? What caused a rift so deep that you had to resort to that?"

"Trying to analyze me as well, doctor?" Lucy said with a smile. "No offense, but I really don't believe in therapy as a rule. Too many people use it as an excuse to behave badly, although there are a few people who really need it. No, I didn't divorce Greg because I didn't love him anymore. I still love him. I haven't been involved with anyone since the divorce. After my parents died, he crawled into a bottle, wouldn't talk about it with me. I had to try and heal the both of us and I couldn't do it. I was too young to have to do that for two people. Greg is a good man, deserves happiness just like everyone else. He just refuses to believe it, and I really never got all the details why he feels way, and it looks like you didn't get much more than I did. I feel responsible for everything that's happened since I left him." Lucy said.

Jim just stared at his sister, not believing what he had just heard. Lucy not having any sex for over ten years? She and House had an amazing relationship in and out of bed. He knew House could hit the bottle pretty hard, but didn't know what had happened between him and his sister after their parents died. Now he was starting to understand a little more about House and feeling guiltier than he already had for enabling him and not getting Lucy back here sooner, like after Stacey left him. House and Lucy would have been spared a lot of pain if he had.

"Lucy, are you saying that you haven't been with anyone since your divorce?" Jim said in astonishment.

Lucy glared at her brother. "Yeah, dumb ass, that's what I'm saying. You know damn well I never slept around. Greg was and is the only one for me. I'd rather be celibate for the rest of my life if I can't be with Greg." she replied in a flat voice while finishing her dinner.

Nolan was silent. Even without a thorough knowledge of this family, he could sense they were all close and it had helped Greg for a short while. After his in laws had died, House didn't know how to deal with it, even though his wife tried to help, so he pulled everything back behind his wall of sarcasm and regressed to the self-destructive pattern that had re-emerged after breaking up with Cuddy.

From what Wilson had told him, the relationship with Cuddy was wrong from the start. House twisted himself into a pretzel to be what he thought she wanted him to be and nothing was ever good enough; she even withheld sex to get what she wanted. Then he went through a health scare with her mother and then Cuddy herself and he couldn't take losing another person he had opened himself up to. That's when the Vicodin slip happened and Cuddy called the whole thing off.

Nolan sensed Lucy was a fighter. They had a good shot at putting Greg back on track now. He took another look at Lucy. He noticed her wedding rings on her right hand, but said nothing for the time being. He had already guessed she had a short fuse and didn't want to light it just yet if at all. They needed to take care of Greg first.

"Dr. Wilson, your sister looks like she could use some sleep. Dinner is on me. Let me pay our bill and let's get going back to Princeton. I'm sure Lucy still wants to look at those records before she goes to sleep."

"Lucy, do you want a sleeping pill for tonight?" Nolan asked. "I saw a pharmacy around the corner."

He got the patented "Lucy Glare" and he was startled. Jim laughingly stepped in.

"Dr. Nolan, my sister refuses prescription medication if she can. It always knocks her for a loop no mater how mild the dosage. She's ready to collapse right now, so I think she'll be fine."

"I'm sorry for the glare Dr. Nolan. My brother's right about me and prescription medication. While it does what it's supposed to do, I always feel like crap when it wears off. It's just not worth it to me. I appreciate the offer though." Lucy gave Nolan a tired smile. "Did my brother ever tell you the story about how he and Greg dosed me when I got bronchitis?"

Nolan smiled broadly. "No Lucy, I've heard some stories, but not that one." They were walking out of the restaurant now.

"This was about a month before Greg and I decided to elope. The bronchitis hit me quick and I had a fever. All I wanted to do was go to my room and sleep. The chuckle head that I was married to decided to mix a sedative with the antibiotics he gave me. In less than three minutes, I was out cold for the day. The stupid part was that they were worried I was going to try and go coach my baseball team in that condition. When I woke up, my voice was completely gone, but I gave them hell anyway. Greg did that to me two more times, but each time he claimed it was for my own good."

Nolan laughed out loud at Greg House being a caring human being despite him continually saying he was a selfish bastard. He was capable of caring, and now that Lucy was here, they had to help him learn to deal with life in a more reasonable manner.

Jim was fiddling with the radio as they pulled out of the garage and found the Oldies station Lucy always listened to.

"Lucy, isn't . . ." Jim started to say as Nolan stopped him with a finger to his lips and pointed to the back seat. Lucy had fallen asleep.

"Dr. Wilson, she's exhausted. Just leave the radio on and lets get her back to Princeton. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for her in a lot of ways.


	3. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER THREE **__**- Back In Princeton**_

A little over an hour later, Jim was pulling up in front of 221 Baker Street. He got Lucy's suitcase out of the trunk. Before he had a chance to wake her, Lucy opened the door of the car and got out. As she took her purse and carry on out of the car, she thanked Dr. Nolan for his help and they all agreed to meet at the hospital at nine the next morning. Jim unlocked the door to Greg's apartment and handed Lucy the keys.

Lucy looked around. She actually liked the way Greg had furnished the place. Very masculine. It suited him. He was still neat about his surroundings. She walked through to the kitchen and saw that while the cupboards weren't bare, groceries were needed, but not tonight. There was enough here to make herself breakfast tomorrow and she would worry about groceries later. It wasn't even seven, but all she wanted was a hot bath and to get into bed and go over Greg's records.

She followed Jim back to the bedroom and Jim seemed more surprised at how neat the room was than Lucy.

"Jim, he was always neat about his surroundings. I never had to pick up after him. He just dresses a little sloppy, that's all. Protesting "The Establishment". You're still condemning him because he doesn't wear a suit and tie to work like you do." Lucy said softly as she got out her things and got ready to take a bath.

"Wait a minute, Lucy." Jim said as he went into the bathroom first. "The rest of the place might be clean, but I'm not sure what we'll find in here. Are you sure you don't want to stay at my loft?"

"Jim, stop being an ass!" Lucy exclaimed as she moved in front of her brother. "We never had any bathroom fights, either."

As she expected, the bathroom was clean.

"Good night, Jim." Lucy said as she pushed her brother to the door. "Don't forget tp pick me up tomorrow morning. Were you able to get me privileges at PPTH?"

"Lucy, about that. Cuddy knows I brought you back home and she's not too thrilled about the prospect of you around House. I had to threaten to take it to the Board before she caved." Jim said.

"She's to blame for this relapse Jim! Who the hell does she think she is?" As exhausted as she was, Lucy would have knocked Cuddy out if she were there right now.

Lucy's outburst momentarily gave Jim doubts about the wisdom of bringing Lucy here now, but suddenly he knew that Lucy would just chop Cuddy into little pieces and use her for bait if she gave her any trouble. Still, he warned his sister.

"Be careful, Lucy. She has lots of connections and can make your life very difficult."

"Do you really think I'm afraid of her and her connections? I'm Frank Mazzelli's daughter. My name will open more doors than she can try to close on me! She's pissed off because she can't help Greg, and she's afraid I can and will!" Lucy was fired up now.

"Goosey. Get some rest. You have lots of work to do tomorrow." Jim hugged his sister.

As he let her go, she punched him in the arm.

"Ow! Lucy, what was that for?" Jim whined as he rubbed his arm.

"Stop calling me "Goosey"!" she said as she slammed the door in his face and locked it.

Jim shook his head and laughed as he walked to his car. Lucy was going to give everyone a run for their money tomorrow like she always did!

As Jim parked in front of his building and waited for Nolan to find his car keys, out of the blue, he asked, "Dr. Wilson, did you notice your sister is still wearing her wedding rings?"

Jim looked at him quizzically. "What are you taking about? She's wearing the ring our parents bought her when she graduated from medical school. They bought it in Italy. It's a family ring and even has House's birth stone in it."

"No, Dr. Wilson. I saw that ring. She's wearing them on her right hand. Did Greg also buy her that opal necklace?"

"Yes, he gave it to her the day she graduated from medical school." Jim answered, still not knowing where Nolan was going with this.

"Dr. Wilson, I think your sister continuing to wear her rings, even on her right hand, is an unconscious effort to stay connected with Greg and to warn others that she's not available. Once we get a handle on Greg, we need to find out exactly how she's gotten through the past ten years on her own. But Greg is the first priority. Once he gets out of the hospital, I'm going to suggest joint therapy sessions. He'll protest, but I think Lucy will make him go. I'll finally get to the bottom of the whole thing." Nolan said with a smile.

"So you think Lucy really is the key to helping House, I didn't make her come home for nothing?" Jim said hopefully.

"Yes, I'm sure Lucy is the key and with time, I'll get to the bottom of everything." Nolan said as he got into his car and pulled way from Jim's building.


	4. Chapter 4

_**CHAPTER FOUR**__** - Dr. Lisa Cuddy's Office, March 18**__**th**__**, 2011**_

Lisa Cuddy was pacing her office, waiting for Wilson and Dr. Nolan. She knew she was going to regret the fact the Wilson's sister had temporary privileges at this hospital, but in the end, she had no choice. Wilson and his sister were related to half the Board members, and their uncle, Tony Mazzelli, had just been named chairman of the board.

To add insult to injury, Lucy had board voting privileges. Since she had been living in Florida, her uncle had her voting proxy, but now she was back and might stay for good. Cuddy was not a happy camper.

Wilson, Dr. Nolan and Lucy had slipped through the lobby and escaped Cuddy's notice for the time being, much to Lucy's annoyance. She wanted to meet the woman who directly or indirectly caused Greg to relapse and give her hell and her brother knew it. He took her directly to his office and sat her down.

"Lucy, stay right here until Dr. Nolan and I talk to Cuddy." Jim said as forcefully as he could when Lucy tried to get up and follow them. "Don't start any trouble."

Lucy glared at her brother and sat down to wait.

In the meantime, Greg's team had heard the commotion in Wilson's office and wondered what was going on. They were all stunned by Cuddy breaking up with House and they knew the reasons why she did it, but they blamed her for not staying with House to make sure he was okay and not let him take anymore Vicodin. They had all expected House to relapse at some point, but not like he did.

As a group, they decided to walk past Wilson's office to see if they could see who was there and what the commotion was all about. Of course they knew nothing about Wilson getting his sister to come home to try and help House. Taub and Masters didn't know House had been married. Foreman and Chase had heard about it, but Lucy had already left town by the time they started working for House.

They walked by Wilson's office and peeked in and saw Lucy sitting there, thumbing through one of the journals in her brother's office.

All the men's mouths dropped open. Lucy was as beautiful as she ever was. Today, she was wearing fitted dark blue denims and a fitted amethyst silk sweater under a black blazer. A pair of black ballerina flats were on her feet. The unruly hair was in its usual ponytail and she had pulled the ponytail through the back of her baseball cap. The four of them hurried down the hall before Lucy noticed them.

Naive as she was, Masters got a chuckle at their reactions. Lucy was beautiful to say the least. The only thing that surprised her was that Chase didn't walk in and try to pick her up!

They took the long way back to the conference room. Chase had a thoughtful look on his face as the other three were trying to figure out who Lucy was.

"That's House's ex-wife!" Chase exclaimed.

The other three looked at him as if he had sprouted horns.

"Chase, House was never married. What are you talking about?" Taub exclaimed.

"Taub, that's his ex-wife, Wilson's half-sister." Chase stubbornly insisted. He was right.

"And how do you know this?" Taub asked. He thought House had never been married and was trying to wrap his mind around this.

"She was finishing up her residency when her parents died. I guess it put too much strain on both of them and she left. I remember seeing her around the hospital a few times before she left him, but I never actually met her. Wilson and Nolan must have decided she might be able to help House now." Chase said thoughtfully.

"Chase, you're an idiot!" Foreman snorted. "Why would House's ex-wife show up now? Hasn't she heard about everything that's happened to him over the years?"

"Foreman." Taub interjected. "We don't know what the circumstances of their divorce were. For all we know, if she had known about House's troubles, she would have come back home much sooner. You know House and how he likes to hide things. He probably asked the family not to say anything to her because he didn't want her pity. We all know how he feels about that."

Foreman looked thoughtful now. "You could be right, Taub. We might get to see some fireworks."

Down in Cuddy's office, she was breathing fire, still trying to use her authority to ban Lucy from the hospital.

Wilson finally got fed up.

"Cuddy, listen to me and listen good! We all knew House might have a relapse. He's an addict; most addicts do relapse at least once. I lay the blame for this directly at your feet because you didn't stay with him to make sure he was all right or at least go through his apartment and look for Vicodin and take them away from him. Maybe he wouldn't have gone off on that bender if you had. And another thing, you do make him a crappy doctor. You claim you didn't want him to change, yet from the very beginning when the two of you signed that stupid "Love Contract" with HR, you've been trying to make him something he isn't. Greg House is a man who takes chances with patient treatment because he's usually right. Because of his desire to please you, he's lost three patients, two of whom could have been saved, because he was trying to please you and cure them at the same time. Yeah, he's rough around the edges, but that works for him!" Wilson shouted at his boss.

Cuddy gave Wilson a dirty look. "If House is so good, why did your sister divorce him then?" she snarked.

The look on Wilson's face was murderous and Cuddy took a step back.

"Cuddy, they both went through something that was too much for them to handle. My sister tried until she couldn't anymore." Wilson snapped right back. "And even that much is none of your damn business!"

Cuddy looked at Nolan.

"Dr. Cuddy, why are you being so defensive and stubborn at this attempt to help Greg? You may have broken up with him, but don't you have any feelings for him? Don't you want him to get better? Or are you angry because you can't help him?" Nolan wondered.

Cuddy's mouth clamped shut. Leave it to a shrink to tell her the truth about herself.

"Get out of my office and do what you have to do and don't be too disappointed when your little scheme doesn't work. I know House."

Nolan and Wilson headed to his office. Lucy popped out of her chair when they came in, and the look on her brother's face said it all.

"It went that well, huh?" she asked.

"Come on Lucy, let's go see House now." Jim said as he, Lucy and Nolan headed up to Greg's room.

As they walked down the hall to Greg's room, Dr. Nolan gave Lucy and her brother instructions.

"Lucy, I'm going in first to talk to Greg, I want you to stay out of sight as long as possible. I want to try and gauge Greg's reaction to a visitor, but I won't mention you by name. When you think the time is right, come in.

At first, Lucy was skeptical, but then she saw the wisdom of Nolan's plan. If she just waltzed into Greg's room unannounced, it might do more harm than good. She nodded her head yes, suddenly nervous about the whole thing.

She stood behind her brother, just outside the door, where she couldn't be seen.

Nolan walked into the room and picked up Greg's chart and made a few notes on it.

Greg just stared angrily at him. Why wouldn't everyone just leave him alone for now? He knew he needed help. He wasn't ready for it yet. He still hadn't quite digested the fact that Cuddy broke up with him, even though he knew it was inevitable because he was who he was. Cuddy wouldn't accept him because of that.

"Well, Greg, everything on you chart looks fine. How do you feel about a visitor this morning?" Nolan asked with a smile on his face.

Like a Jack-In-The-Box, Wilson popped into the doorway. Still refusing to talk, Greg glared and turned his back to Wilson. Lucy was still out of sight behind her brother, but she could see Greg's reaction. She poked her brother in the back to hurry him up.

"Nice manners there, House. I can see why I'm the last person you want to see, but I found this young lady wandering the halls, and I thought you might want to see her."

As Greg turned back to face Wilson, Lucy stepped out from behind him and his mouth dropped open.

"I'm hallucinating again!" Greg thought in a panic. "That can't be Lucy!"

"How's it hanging, Stretch?' Lucy said as she quickly covered the few feet between the door and the bed. She lowered the railing and sat next to him. He reached his hand out to touch her face.

I'm real, Greg. I came home." Lucy said softly as she turned her head to kiss his hand.

Nolan had quietly backed to the door to observe.

Greg sat all the way up and put his arms around Lucy, pulling her close against his chest, inhaling her scent. He looked over Lucy's shoulder at Nolan and Wilson. They were both smiling from ear to ear. If this were an hallucination, they would be laughing maniacally by now and making fun of him. He closed his eyes and held Lucy tighter whispering her name. Nolan and Wilson left the room.

Standing unobserved in the hall across from House's room, Cuddy watched the entire scene with a sad look on her face. Lucy Mazzelli did what she couldn't do. House was talking.


	5. Chapter 5

_**CHAPTER FIVE**__** - I Think We Should Talk Now**_

"I think we should talk now, don't you Greg?" Lucy said softly as Nolan quietly motioned to Jim that they should leave.

"Baby, I'm so sorry for what I did. I should have never shut you out when your parents died. I saw too late what I did to you." The words just came tumbling out of Greg's mouth.

"It's all right, Greg." Lucy whispered softly. She was shocked at how tired he looked, but kept her poker face on.

"Greg, why didn't you call me sooner if things were so bad? None of this had to happen." Lucy said.

"Lucy, I convinced myself that I was right, that I had no business marrying you. I didn't want your pity or to be rejected."

That brought tears to Lucy's eyes.

"Lucy, please don't cry. I never could handle your tears." Greg said with a sigh

"Greg, how could you think I would reject you? Have you forgotten I tried to make amends more than once and you blew me off?"

Lucy had gotten off the bed and was pacing.

"I've been kept in the dark until now. Thanks to your stubbornness and my family's willingness to go along with it, I didn't know how bad things had gotten. Do you really think I would have turned you down if you asked me to come back home? Do you think I've been having one big party in Florida? I hate every minute I'm there!"

Lucy was getting angry now.

"Why did you leave Princeton then? It's your home!" Greg snapped.

Lucy turned on him, eyes flashing, hands on her hips.

"I left because I didn't want to see you with anyone else. I would never deny you any happiness at all and if being shed of me and being with someone else was what it took, I accepted that. I just didn't see any reason to stay around and watch it happen. Why torture myself?" Lucy was practically shouting now.

"You left so I could be happy?" Greg snarked. "That's bullshit! You made me happy!"

"Why did you let me go then?" Lucy whipped right back. "I thought leaving you was the right thing to do. You didn't try very hard to convince me otherwise."

"I didn't know how to make you stay here, Lucy." Greg said with his eyes downcast.

"All you had to do was get your head out of the damn bourbon bottle and ask me to stay."

"Lucy." Greg said.

"You heard me! All you had to do was sober up and ask me to stop the divorce. I would have done it in a heart beat. We both could have gone to Florida and started over. I wouldn't have been miserable and you wouldn't have done a cannon ball from a hotel balcony!" Lucy replied angrily.

The IV Greg was hooked up to was finished and started beeping and Lucy went to turn it off. She looked at Greg's chart. An amused look came over her face.

"Lucy, you can't practice here. Cuddy won't have it."

"Guess what, Greg, I have privileges here now regardless of what Cuddy will have. Jim threatened to go to the Board if she refused, so I can take part in your treatment while you're here." Lucy snapped back.

The information on Greg's chart wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Lucy knew about addicts and relapses, having incorporated treating addicted children with her pediatrics specialty. She had treated many teens who relapsed.

What she saw on Greg's chart was unremarkable as far as she was concerned. He must have been drunk as a skunk when they brought him in, and his blood work showed Vicodin as well as pot. He had been given IV antibiotics as a precaution against STD's, but his last labs looked clean for everything. He was just on IV fluids now.

Lucy was removing the IV from Greg's hand as a nurse came in to check on him, a volunteer right behind her with a lunch tray. Lucy wasn't wearing gloves.

"Doctor!" the nurse said in shock. "You should be wearing gloves! You don't know what you might be exposed to!"

Greg smothered a laugh. Lucy knew him better than anyone else and even though he had gone off on a bender, whatever sexual contact he had, he used a condom. He might have been drunk and stoned, but he wouldn't go spelunking without his rubbers on!

"Dr. House doesn't have anything that scares me, nurse, and if he did, I'm sure a shot of Penicillin would take care of things." Lucy snapped. "You can go back to your other patients. The IV is finished and I'll chart his vitals."

The nurse huffed and went out of the room.

"Of all the nerve!" she said to herself. "Just because her father used to be Dean here!"

The volunteer left a lunch tray for Greg and Lucy was reminded that she was hungry, even though she had eaten breakfast. Greg uncovered the tray and made a face.

"How about I go get us some real food, Greg?" Lucy said with a mischievous smile.

"Fiorello's?" Greg said hopefully. He couldn't stand the crap the hospital fed the patients, and since he had refused to talk to anyone, even Wilson, he had been forced to swallow it.

Damn Wilson anyway! He should have just brought him the food and left!

"Coming right up!" Lucy said smiling again. "I'll get my brother's keys and be back in twenty minutes. She ran out of the room and down to her brother's office.

Nolan and Jim were in deep conversation when Lucy burst through the door without even knocking.

"Give me your keys, Jim. I'm going to get lunch for Greg!" Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed her purse.

"Wait a minute, Lucy, what happened in there? What did you talk about?" Jim asked.

Lucy was almost manic in her desire to get Jim''s keys.

"Jim, give me the damn keys! This hospital serves crappy food to the patients and Greg and I are both hungry! I'm going to Fiorello's to get us some sandwiches. I'll talk to you later!"

She grabbed the keys from her brother and ran out of his office, practically knocking Cuddy off her stilettos, not realizing who she had nearly knocked over. She just kept going.

They were arguing, but she and Greg were starting to talk like they should have ten years ago!


	6. Chapter 6

_**CHAPTER SIX**__** - Lunch Time**_

Practically being knocked over by Lucy didn't help Cuddy's mood any. She walked into Wilson's office.

"Why was your sister in such a hurry to get out of here?" she questioned her Oncologist. "House throw her out?" she snarked.

"No, he didn't throw her out. He wanted some decent food to eat and she took my car to go get it. Now how would you know House spoke if you weren't there?" Wilson asked.

"Yes, Dr. Cuddy. How did you know about that? I don't think the hospital grapevine works that fast, does it?" said Dr. Nolan.

Cuddy looked extremely guilty.

"Okay, I was standing on the other side of the nurse's station watching. He talked to her. Big deal. Oh, do you know she removed House's IV and didn't wear gloves?" Cuddy asked. "She's opening up my hospital to a law suit if she gets sick."

Wilson was angry.

"Cuddy, first of all, don't ever question my sister's medical expertise. She's smarter than House and that's saying something. She diagnosed one of his patients before she even started her residency. Second, this hospital is not your personal property. It belongs to the University and you were hired by the Board to do a job. Third, you know as well as I do House's labs are clear for any STD's or infections!"

Cuddy turned and went back to her office.

I don't think Dr. Cuddy is happy, do you Dr. Wilson?" Nolan said with a laugh.

"No, she isn't, and I don't really care." Jim replied. "Let's got get some lunch ourselves. We won't get anything out of Lucy until later anyway.

Meanwhile, back in Greg's room Lucy had come back with a big steak hoagie for Greg and a chicken sandwich for herself. That had been one of the harder things for her when she moved to Florida. She was a good cook, but she missed this food.

Greg looked at her sandwich. "Please tell me there aren't any pickles on that sandwich, Lucy!" She took off the top slice of the bun and showed him.

"God, baby, how can you eat pickles?" he groaned, first in agony, then in ecstasy as he bit into his own sandwich.

"Oh, just be quiet and eat. We still have some talking to do and don't you dare hide behind your sarcasm and deflect me!" Lucy exclaimed as she stole a fry from Greg even though she had her own.

"Leave my fries alone, woman!" he exclaimed as he tried to slap her hand away and missed as usual. "Okay, Lucy, what do you want to know?"

"Let's start with the infarction. Tony and Liza were your medical proxies when I left. I made sure of that. I know they wouldn't have authorized that surgery without even asking me my opinion."

Greg winced.

"I was seeing Stacy when it happened, and I was drinking a lot. She managed to convince me to sign the papers giving her my medical proxy if I were incapacitated. What I wanted was to be put in a medically induced coma to get through the worst of the pain and then see what type of surgery needed to be done. Unfortunately, once I was in that coma, Cuddy suggested this surgery and they went a bit to far in cutting away the dead muscle."

Lucy scowled at the mention of Cuddy's name.

"She suggested the surgery and you still got into a relationship with her? How could you forgive her? Indirectly, she's responsible for some of your problems, but I can see I started them by leaving you! Let me see your leg!" she demanded.

"Lucy, no." Greg said in embarrassment, not wanting her to see how damaged he was.

"Don't be an ass!" she exclaimed as she pulled the sheet back and looked at Greg's leg.

She gasped.

"Oh, Greg, I'm so sorry! What did they use on you? A butcher knife? I would have never let this happen!" Lucy's face went white.

"Lucy, none of this is your fault. I hold myself responsible for my actions. I know I'm an ass. You know I operate on impulse half the time. The Vicodin let me hide from feeling anything. I missed you like hell and I didn't think you'd ever come back to me. I didn't want to think about it."

"I learned to hide my pain even better than I had been when I left Princeton, Greg. I understand you even more now, why you deflect and hide your pain. I would have come back to you in a heart beat had you asked. Let's just get you better and see if we can pick up the pieces, okay" Lucy said in a soft voice.

Greg took her hand and pulled her on the bed with him.

"Do you mean that baby? You're not just sticking around humoring the crippled old gimp until he gets back on his feet then leave him?"

Lucy curled up next to Greg.

"You're not a crippled old gimp, and I think I can help you a little with the pain. I won't leave Greg. I'm home now."

Lucy meant it. She would quite her job in Orlando and move back to Princeton. Cuddy would never let her work here, but for once in her life, she would use her name to get something for herself. Any hospital in Princeton would hire her. She was an excellent doctor.

Again Cuddy watched from across the hall. She was sad and angry at the same time. Sad because it was obvious House had never really loved her, and would always love Lucy and angry that she had broken up with him. If she hadn't, Lucy wouldn't be here.


	7. Chapter 7

_**CHAPTER SEVEN**__** - Light At The End Of The Tunnel**_

After they finished lunch and their conversation, Greg was exhausted. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open. He could see light at the end of the tunnel now.

He had almost dozed off when Lucy asked him, "Greg, is there anything you want me to bring you tomorrow?"

"Lucy, don't go out of your way to go to my apartment. As long as you come back tomorrow, that's all I need." Greg said with a sleepy smile.

"Greg, I'm staying in your apartment." Lucy said with a grin. "And even if I weren't, it wouldn't be a big deal for me to get you something you need."

Greg chuckled. "Staying in my apartment, huh?"

"Yeah, and I'll be driving your car, too!" Lucy said with a giggle. "That's the same car you had when you came to Princeton. Are you ever going to get a new one?"

"Hey, it still gets me from Point A to Point B, and the seats fit my ass perfectly. Now you're going to mess that up with your cute little ass!" Greg reached around and gave Lucy a good grope.

"Greg! Stop it!" Lucy squealed.

"Only if I get a kiss!" Greg said with a wicked grin.

"I thought you'd never ask." Lucy said impishly as she lowered her lips to meet Greg's.

It was like the first time she had really kissed him when he gave her the stuffed Tigger on her birthday, tongues dancing around each other and the soft moans escaping her throat

Lucy broke the kiss first and her eyes locked on Greg's. He had no doubt of her feelings now and neither did she.

"I'll bring breakfast tomorrow, okay?" Lucy said breathlessly.

"Pancakes?" Greg said hopefully, his hand still on Lucy's ass. She nodded.

"Bring my Gameboy, too."

"Okay." Lucy said as she picked up her purse and left the room.

Greg leaned back on the bed, hands behind his head and smiled. He would have to work at it, but he knew he and Lucy would make it this time. She never put any pressure on him to behave any differently than he always had, and only expected him to be open with her. In the agony he had gone through following Frank and Lina's deaths, he forgot that because he was wallowing in self pity.

Lucy went to her brother's office.

"Dr. Nolan! You're still here?" Lucy said as she turned on her cell phone and started scrolling through the contacts.

"Lucy, I'm waiting for your opinion on Greg's condition. What do you think?"

"Dr. Nolan, I think with a little help and time, he'll be fine!"

Lucy turned to her brother.

"Jim, is Dr. Cantrell in today?"

"I think so Lucy, why?" Jim wondered.

"I have to look at the file again, but I think I know how to get rid of half of Greg's pain. See you tomorrow!"

She ran out of Jim's office and headed to Dr. Cantrell's office.

She burst in on him and asked him to get Greg scheduled for an MRI tomorrow.

"Welcome back, Lucy." he said with a smile. "Why the MRI?"

"I think I know what's caused half of his leg pain!" Lucy said in an excited voice.

"Are you sure Lucy? Have you seen his file?" Cantrell asked.

"Yes, I have copy! I have to go and look at it again, but I need a new MRI to confirm. Can you do it?"

Lucy was practically jumping up and down. Cantrell knew she was on to something, so he picked up the phone.

"Is tomorrow at eleven okay?" Cantrell said with a smile.

"Yes! Now go tell your patient!" Lucy ran out of the hospital to catch the cab she called.

It was three o'clock when Lucy got back to Greg's apartment. She was still wired up from what she had remembered from looking at one of the old scans of Greg's leg. If she was right, whoever read the MRI shouldn't have missed it and she instinctively knew Dr. Cantrell didn't do it.

She looked through Greg's kitchen and made a list for the grocery store and included cleaning supplies and laundry soap.

Shopping done and everything put away, Lucy started to make spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Tomorrow she would make gnocchi.

Meatballs done and sauce simmering in a pot, Lucy washed her hands and made herself a sandwich. She flipped through Greg's file until she found the scan she was looking for. She held it up to the window. Ninety nine percent certain she was right, she smiled.

She heard knocking on the door and wondered who it could be. She opened the door to a tall, over bleached blond in skintight jeans and a midriff shirt. Couldn't have been more than twenty five.

"Must have been someone he met on his bender." Lucy thought to herself.

She was right.

"Can I help you?" Lucy asked in her sweetest voice.

The blond was taken aback and didn't have the good sense to hide it. She actually thought she was going to start something up with House.

"Is the Doc here?" she asked in a nasal twang.

"No, I'm afraid he's in the hospital at the moment." Lucy said, still behaving herself.

"Oh, what hospital is he in?" the blond asked. "I'd like to pay him a visit."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I thought you knew. Greg's not allowed any visitors now. He's very contagious. Can I tell him you were here when he's allowed visitors?"

Lucy couldn't help herself. This was like toying with MacGregor all those years ago.

The blond got mad. Who did this woman think she was moving in the Doc's apartment anyway?

"Who are you, honey, the cleaning lady?" she asked while cracking her gum.

"I'm the Doc's ex wife, _honey_. Like I said is there a message for him?" Lucy said sarcastically.

"Well, uh, yeah, tell him Ginger stopped by and I hope he gets better soon." she said dejectedly turning to walk out of the building.

Lucy watched the blond walk out the door and started giggling as soon as she got outside. She closed the door and locked it.

"Man, that must have been some bender he went on!" Lucy said to herself as she walked back into the apartment. She heard her cell phone ringing. It was Greg and he was a little pissed.

"Lucy, Cantrell just paid me a visit, something about you knowing what's causing half my leg pain and that he'd see me tomorrow for an MRI. What the hell do you think you're doing? You haven't seen my records or anything!" Greg said angrily. "I don't want anymore surgery and pie in the sky promises about getting rid of the pain!"

"Greg, I have seen your medical records, and who said anything about surgery? An MRI is a non-invasive procedure and you know it. If I'm right, the treatment will be a piece of cake. And don't you ever use that tone of voice on me again unless you have good reason to. I won't put up with it. I came back home because I still care and I want to help. No one forced me into this. If you don't want me to help, fine! I'll go back to Florida tomorrow!" Lucy knew where to poke the sharp stick, same as Greg did.

Lucy heard nothing but Greg breathing on the other end of the line.

"Well, what's your decision, Greg? MRI, or do I go home and forget about everything we talked about this afternoon?"

Still nothing but breathing on the other end, then, "Lucy, when did you get so mean?" Greg asked.

"I've never been mean, Greg, I'm just practicing medicine the way I saw you do it, and I'm not even trying to do anything dangerous to you!"

"You're right Lucy, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I've just had so many disappointments about resolving my pain, I just lost it. They just gave me something to make me sleep. I'll see you for breakfast, okay baby?"

Lucy could tell now that he was just about out, and had fought the sedative until he could yell at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, sweetheart." Lucy whispered.

"Mmm, yeah, pancakes." Greg mumbled as the sedative took hold. "Can't wait." He barely managed to turn off his phone.


	8. Chapter 8

_**CHAPTER EIGHT**__** - Diagnosis**_

Lucy was at the hospital by eight Saturday morning, carrying breakfast for her and Greg. While waiting for the elevator, she saw Lisa Cuddy walking determinedly toward her.

Lucy pressed the elevator button in vain, not wanting to talk to Cuddy. She didn't trust herself.

"Dr. Mazzelli, may I speak to you for a moment?"

Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

Lucy sighed inwardly. "Of course Dr. Cuddy. What can I do for you?"

"I hear you think you can help House with his leg. What makes you think you know what's wrong after less than three days back here that your brother or I couldn't figure out?"

"Dr. Cuddy, you and my brother don't seem to be able to be objective when it comes to Greg. I always have been and I never expected him to change his behavior one iota. I have always accepted him as he was. When you truly love someone, you accept them flaws and all. Apparently you haven't learned that and Greg paid for it this time. All I asked for is an MRI to rule out something. It's non-invasive. Don't you want him to get better?" Lucy said as the elevator finally came and she closed the door on Cuddy's face.

Lucy walked into Greg's room, finding him watching the door for her. He took a deep breath.

"Hurry up, baby! I'm starved!" Greg said as Lucy set everything out on the tray.

Greg dove into the pancakes while Lucy nibbled on some bacon and drank coffee. By the time it was all said and done, Greg had eaten six banana walnut pancakes and a pile of bacon. He sat back on the bed and burped loudly.

Lucy giggled.

"Compliments to the cook, baby. You haven't lost your touch!" Greg said with satisfaction. "What's in the other bag?"

"You asked for your Gameboy, and I brought some clean clothes. If the MRI goes like I think it will, we'll get you discharged tomorrow."

"Lucy, what's going on in that devious mind of yours?" Greg asked. "Is there really any need to be mysterious about it?"

"Like you said last night, Greg, you're tired of pie in the sky promises of pain relief. I don't want to say anything until I can look at a new MRI with Cantrell and bounce the idea off him." Lucy said with one of her mysterious smiles.

An aide came with a wheelchair to take Greg down for his MRI.

"That's okay, I'll take him down, I know where it is." Lucy said as Greg limped painfully over to the chair.

She was startled but she didn't show it. She had to be right now. She couldn't bear to see him like this.

As they were waiting for the elevator, Lucy decided to tell Greg about his visitor last night.

"Greg, you had a visitor last night." Lucy said. Greg looked up at her and didn't like the look on her face.

"Who?" he said cautiously.

"Oh, some bimbo named Ginger looking for the "Doc"."

Greg slumped in the wheelchair. She must have been one of the girls that was in the crew he went on his bender with.

"Lucy, she was there when I was on my bender." Greg said quietly.

"Don't worry, Greg. She wanted to see you but I told her you were highly contagious and weren't allowed visitors. She said she hopes you get better soon." She gently stroked his face.

"That's it?" he said to himself. "Cuddy had a fit because I wouldn't give up my masseuse. Why the hell did I let Lucy divorce me?" Greg asked himself.

He answered himself, too.

"Because I'm a pompous, self-righteous ass who always has to be right and it damn near cost me my life more than once!"

MRI done, they were back in Greg's room waiting for Cantrell and the verdict. Lucy was pacing the room until Greg told her to stop it, she was making him dizzy.

Finally, Cantrell came into the room with a big smile on his face. Lucy couldn't wait.

"It's a pinched nerve, right?" she said in an excited voice.

"You were right again, Lucy." Cantrell said.

"Greg, you should have come to me a long time ago about this. You could have spared yourself a lot of agony."

Greg was stunned. A pinched nerve?

"All he needs is a course of corticosteroids and some physical therapy, right?" Lucy said with excitement.

"That's all Lucy. I'll start the treatment today and he can go home tomorrow." Cantrell said as he walked out the door.

"Told you you were going home tomorrow!" Lucy said as she grabbed Greg's chart and started to write up the discharge orders.

Jim walked in as she was writing on the chart.

"What do you mean he can be discharged, Lucy?" Jim was alarmed.

"Jim, he's physically and mentally stable enough to go home. He has a pinched nerve in his leg and Cantrell just signed off on the treatment. Nolan will agree to the discharge if Greg goes back into therapy. I'll go with him!"

Lucy had it all planned out. She handed her brother the chart for his signature as well so Cuddy wouldn't have anything to bitch about.

"House, are you sure you want to go home now?" Jim asked.

"Wilson, I can't stay here forever. If you hadn't been smart enough to bring Lucy home, I'd be on my way back to Mayfield and you know it. I did leave therapy too soon. I will do anything not to go back to the state I was in when I was on that balcony!"

"If you're sure, then you'll get out of here tomorrow. I'm going to call Nolan and ask him to stop by today just to be safe. Jim was surprised when House didn't kick up a fuss.

Turns out Nolan had no problem discharging Greg either. Lucy had already agreed to attend sessions with Greg. And Greg would be declared mentally healthy in record time.


	9. Chapter 9

_**CHAPTER NINE**__** - Welcome Home**_

When Jim brought Greg home Sunday, Lucy had lunch ready for the three of them. Greg took a deep breath when he walked into his apartment and started drooling. Lucy made her sauce.

He went into the kitchen and saw the gnocchi floating in a pot on the stove. Life was going to be good if he had anything to say about it.

Lucy had been in the bedroom when they came home and hurried into the kitchen when she heard them come in. She threw her arms around him and held him tight.

Greg responded in kind and Jim was almost embarrassed at the display of emotion from both of them, and they had been pretty demonstrative when they were married!

Greg ate two plates of gnocchi and sat back on the couch and burped loudly while he loosened his belt and undid the button on his jeans.

"House, don't you have any manners?" Jim said.

"Oh lighten up, Jim!" Lucy said as she took the plates into the kitchen. "That's a compliment to the cook."

She came up behind the couch and Greg turned his face up for a kiss.

"Okay, I see I can leave you two alone now. House, I'll see you when you come for your physical therapy."

Greg made a face and Lucy caught it.

"Greg, you have to do the PT!"

"I know, Lucy, I'm just not looking forward to going back to the hospital for it, that's all. I'm better off avoiding Cuddy for the time being."

"Your sessions are scheduled early enough that if you're going to run into her, it will be on the way out the door and there's more than one way for you to get in and out of the hospital without her seeing you. Like the ER." Lucy said.

"Do you have this under control, Lucy?" Jim asked.

"Go home Jim. We'll be fine." Lucy said as she sat next to Greg on the couch and handed him the remote.

Jim left and Lucy and Greg napped on the couch all day.

The sound of Greg's stomach growling woke them both up around six.

"How can you be hungry after all the gnocchi you ate for lunch?" Lucy wondered.

"Is there any left? I could go for some more." Greg said, kissing the top of Lucy's head.

"Coming right up." Lucy said as she headed for the kitchen. She came back with a plate for Greg, but he was just staring straight ahead, rubbing his leg.

"Greg what's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"It just hit me Lucy. You're going to leave as soon as I'm on my feet."

Lucy climbed into his lap, avoiding his bad leg.

"No, Greg. I'm staying. I really hate Florida. I'm going to put my notice in tomorrow and look for a job here."

"Lucy, you have a good thing going down there. Don't give it up for me." he said sadly.

"Greg, what I have down there is nothing. My job is just a job if I don't have you around to share it with. I've been miserable without you. I need to see you, be with you. I don't care how it works out. We can live together if you're more comfortable with that, but I can't go back to Florida now, not alone."

"Lucy are you sure?" Greg was skeptical, but he knew this wasn't an impulse decision. She had been thinking about it since she left home.

"Cuddy will never give you a job, especially now." Greg said cautiously.

"Screw her!" Lucy said. "Princeton Plainsboro isn't the only hospital around here and for once, I'm going to let my name do the talking for me. There are still enough people around that remember my father and would be more than happy to have me on staff."

She leaned over to the coffee table and gave Greg his plate and went to take a bath. That was another thing he hadn't thought of until now. Did Lucy expect sex tonight? He wasn't sure he could after what he did on his bender last week.

He would let Lucy take the lead. She hadn't come back out to the living room, she must have gone to bed.

Greg took his shower and went into the bedroom. Lucy was reading a book.

"Come on, Greg, I know it's early, but lets try to get some sleep. Watch TV if you want to."

As soon as Greg got in bed and got comfortable, Lucy curled up against him like she used to with her leg thrown over him. Greg kissed the top of her head.

Home at last.


	10. Chapter 10

_**CHAPTER TEN**__** - Confession Is Good For The Soul**_

The next morning, Lucy drove Greg to his physical therapy session and she called her boss and gave verbal notice that she was quitting while she was waiting for Greg's session to finish.

She would send a formal email later in the day. Then they went to their appointment with Dr. Nolan. Lucy was nervous but refused to tell Greg or act it. Game face on.

"Greg." Dr. Nolan said. "The constant thread in all of our sessions has been that you don't deserve to be happy with Lucy or anyone needs to be worked on. You need to tell us why you feel unworthy of anyone."

"Nolan, I've already told you. I'm a bastard." Greg said quietly.

Lucy just stared at him, then at Nolan.

"Greg, what the hell are you talking about, you're a bastard?" Lucy exploded. You're a good man!"

"No, Lucy. It looks like Nolan left this out of the records you saw so he could bring this all out in the open. John House was not my biological father. My mother had an affair."

Lucy was dumbfounded.

"I can understand her having an affair, but I can't excuse her letting the Colonel do what he did to you. Why didn't you tell me before? It doesn't make a difference to me now and it wouldn't have then."

"But you left, Lucy." Greg said.

"Greg, do you have any idea how much I regret that decision? I've been miserable and alone, wanting someone who blew off all the attempts I made at a reconciliation!"

"Now we're getting down to it!" Nolan said to himself.

"Lucy, tell us what happened."

Lucy was pacing the floor.

"Three months after I got there, I had another miscarriage."

Before she could go on, Greg said, "Wait a minute Lucy, you started sleeping with someone as soon as you got there?" He was shocked.

"No, you jackass! I was pregnant when I left. I just didn't have you around to tell me I was before I confirmed it with a doctor. I made it to almost eighteen weeks before I lost it."

Lucy's voice was quivering, but she wasn't crying.

"What happened after, Lucy?" Nolan asked. "Why didn't you tell anyone in your family?"

"What would have been the point? The baby was gone and there was nothing to be done about it. I became a bit of an insomniac. I was so miserable with getting so little rest, that when I wasn't on call, I would drink myself into a stupor. I can punish a bottle just as well if not better than Greg can."

Greg just shook his head in shock. He had done that to her and she apparently forgave him?

"What made you stop, Lucy?" Nolan said.

"I woke up one morning, still drunk and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't like what I saw. I took a shower, cleaned myself up and went out for the day. I passed an art supply store. When I was in high school, I used to sketch just for fun. I was pretty good at it. I went in and bought some sketch pads and pencils and started drawing. I started drawing caricatures of the kids who were patients at the hospital. It didn't help with the insomnia, but I stopped drinking." Lucy finally finished.

Greg finally noticed she was wearing her wedding rings. He got up and limped over to her.

"You're still wearing your rings." he said softly.

"They bring back good memories."

Greg put his arms around Lucy.

Nolan cleared his throat.

"You don't need me anymore, Greg. You too Lucy. You've just bared your souls completely to each other. There are no more secrets left and you have the tools to get through the rest of your life. Greg, I suggest you not go back to work for at least a month. I'll send the paperwork over to Cuddy today. I'll officially release you after Easter. Go home."


	11. Chapter 11

_**CHAPTER ELEVEN**__** - Married Again**_

Greg and Lucy drove back to the apartment in silence.

When they got back, Greg said, "This apartment isn't big enough for both of us. We have to move."

"I'm opening the house back up, Greg. Buying all new furniture and we'll create new memories to blend with the old. But I kind of like this furniture here. Why don't we put it in the basement and you can have your "Man Cave?"

Greg took Lucy's hand and led her to the bedroom. He kissed her and slowly they began to undress each other. By the time they were naked, Greg was hard as a rock and pushed Lucy back on the bed. He started kissing her neck and working his way down her body, sucking one nipple then the other.

His tongue trailed down her belly and between her legs. Lucy was going crazy. Greg worked one finger, then two, then a third inside her while he sucked her clit. She was moving her hips in rhythm with this fingers. Greg knew she was close and withdrew his hand and gently spread Lucy's legs and slowly entered her.

It had been so long, Lucy gasped, but pushed up against Greg. He slowly began pumping her and slipped his hand between them. Lucy clamped down on Greg's cock with another flow of moisture as her orgasm started. Greg felt like he was riding the waves as he blew his load inside her. He rolled them over on their sides, but he went limp quickly.

"I'm afraid I'm not the horny old goat you married baby." Greg said as his breathing slowed to normal.

"We'll see about that." Lucy said as she blew raspberries on her way down to give him a blow job.

She was right, Greg still had it in him as he thrust his hips to the rhythm of Lucy sucking him. One final thrust and he gave Lucy everything he had to give. Lucy went back up into his arms and they fell asleep.

A week later, Lucy bought two plane tickets to Florida.

"Why Lucy?" Greg asked.

The house was almost ready to move into and Lucy had made arrangements for his furniture to be moved.

"Greg, I have a house and car to sell and stuff to pack!" Lucy said. Greg got up and limped down the hall to the bedroom. Lucy followed him.

When she got there, he had a jeweler's box in his hand.

"Lucy, let's get married down there. The waiting period is only three days." He opened the box to show Lucy a diamond engagement ring and a matching diamond eternity wedding band. He had had his wedding band from their first wedding cleaned and polished. He slipped the diamond on Lucy's finger.

All Lucy said was, "I won't make you wear a suit this time." before she kissed him.

The first thing the did when they got to Orlando was apply for the license. Then Lucy made arrangements to sell her townhouse to her friend that had been house sitting for her, and she sold her 'Vette to one of the doctors she worked with.

She had everything that she wanted packed and shipped back to Princeton before they went back to the courthouse to get married. They spent the rest of the week in a hotel suite and flew home Sunday.

Monday morning, they walked hand in hand into Cuddy's office after Greg's physical therapy session.

"Cuddy, I quit, effective today. I've hired someone to remove my personal belongings from my office." Greg said with a smirk.

Cuddy caught the flash of diamonds on Lucy's left hand and her heart sank. She had lost.

"House, I'm not writing you any letters of recommendation." Cuddy said a little too quickly. "You'll never get a job anywhere without them."

Lucy spoke up.

"He already has a job at Saint Sebastian's, Dr. Cuddy, as does the rest of his team if they want to follow him. I'm working there too. Have a nice day."

Lucy and Greg walked out smiling.

Greg's team did follow him to Saint Sebastian's and Cuddy was no longer Dean of Medicine at PPTH.

Oh, the Board didn't fire her. They just put her in charge of the Emergency Room, the department that had the highest turnover for department heads as well as staff.

Cuddy would actually have to be a doctor now. No more designer suits and stilettos in the ER. It wasn't practical.

Jim? He was promoted to Dean of Medicine and ran the hospital they way his stepfather did and it was a much better institution for it, even though they had lost the best diagnostician around.

Greg and Lucy? Their life resumed as if nothing had happened to break them up. A few months after they got married, Lucy discovered she was pregnant. It wasn't an easy pregnancy because Lucy's blood pressure wasn't stable. One day, she fainted at work. Dr. Burke, who also practiced at Saint Sebastian's gave her an ultrasound.

"I should have seen this sooner." he said seriously.

"What's wrong?" Greg and Lucy said in unison.

He turned the monitor to them so they could see. "Twins, and I'm delivering day after tomorrow."

"I'm not even eight months gone!" Lucy said in a panic. They're not ready!"

"Lucy, look at your blood pressure. You sound like you're in a panic, but your blood pressure barely registers normal. We were going to do a C-section anyway. They're ready.

Two days later, Greg became the proud father of fraternal twins, a girl who had her mother's curly hair, looks and his blue eyes and a boy who looked just like him, with the same auburn colored hair and his blue eyes as well.

As they grew, it became apparent that both babies inherited the best and worst of their parent's personalities and Greg loved it.

Greg finally knew happiness.


	12. Chapter 12

_**CHAPTER TWELVE**__** - Thank You**_

Thanks to those who read and reviewed this story. Do you think I should end this story here or would you like an epilogue? Do you think I could take this a little farther down the line, maybe one or two more chapters? Let's move on then!


	13. Chapter 13

_**CHAPTER THIRTEEN **__**- Epilogue (s)**_

I know epilogues are supposed to be short and sweet but this sort of got away from me! Remember these are House's musings about his life since he and Lucy remarried and raised a family. The memories are not necessarily in chronological order, but what memories are?

_**HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD**_

As he approached his seventieth birthday, Greg House looked back on his life in amazement.

Never in a million years did he expect his life to go as it had, never expected to have or deserve any happiness. Hell, he never expected to live this long, especially after all the abuse he had heaped on his body!

In September, the twins would be starting their sophomore year at The University of Pennsylvania. Like their mother, they had skipped a grade and were the youngest in their pre-med classes.

Lucy and Greg had bought the twins a large townhouse in Philly rather than have them live in the dorms or commute. Because of the way her parents died, Lucy developed a completely irrational fear, unusual for her, that something would happen to them if they commuted like she did. Greg could count on one hand the number of times she had been irrational and have four fingers left over, so he didn't see any harm in agreeing with her.

Thinking of his children's intelligence led his mind back to Martha Masters. Lucy refused to let them jump so far ahead like Masters parents had. One grade was enough, and Greg didn't even argue the point. She wanted them to experience interaction with kids their own age, have a normal life.

Lucy had instantly liked Masters and offered her a job when they went to Saint Sebastian's, but she turned them down. After all the firing and rehiring Greg did to her, the poor girl finally decided that she couldn't practice medicine his way and ended up going into research and teaching.

Thirteen stayed at PPTH, but only for another year or so, then she dropped out of sight. Greg hired a private investigator, but he didn't have any luck finding her. She had given up the lease on her apartment, closed all her bank accounts and cashed in her 401K. Remy Hadley seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

Remy managed to hide it, but her condition was deteriorating more rapidly than she and her doctor expected. When she had first received confirmation that she had Huntingdon's, her mother's suffering began haunting her dreams.

With those horrible memories plus the ones she had of the patients in the Huntingdon's trial she was briefly involved in, she made a "tough love" decision.

Remy created a new identity for herself under her great grandmother's maiden name so that when the time came, she could disappear and no one would have to watch her be destroyed by the disease.

Using her new identity, Remy then checked her self into an assisted living facility in Sherbrook, Quebec, just over the border from Vermont where she could have some sense of normalcy and medical care available to her at all times. She was deteriorating rapidly and before she lost total control of her body to Huntingdon's, unable to do the simplest tasks like dress herself, Remy intended to end her life.

Before Remy disappeared from Princeton and went into the assisted living facility, she met with a lawyer to have a will drawn up naming Greg as the executor of what was left of her money, directing him to donate it to Huntingdon's research.

Along with the will, she had written letters to Greg, Lucy and the rest of the team telling them it had to be this way to spare them seeing what she had become. She even wrote a letter to Masters although they had only worked together briefly.

Remy's death came quickly and peacefully. A staff member discovered her body when she didn't come to dinner, an empty morphine syringe still stuck in her arm. In her weakened condition, death had been almost instantaneous.

The RCMP investigation into Remy's death revealed that she had become friendly with one of the staff doctors who had stolen morphine in small amounts that wouldn't be noticed immediately until he had enough for Remy to kill herself.

This doctor had relatives that died from Huntingdon's but it hadn't affected his branch of the family. They had all tested negative, but he was all too familiar with what was going to happen to Remy.

Other than the doctor getting the morphine for her, Remy had no intention of involving anyone else in her death. In her last moments of lucidity and ability to control the involuntary jerking of her body somewhat, she had the presence of mind to wipe the syringe clean so only her fingerprints would be on it and managed to inject herself.

As it turned out, the doctor wasn't even on duty when she managed to do that, so he was only in trouble for stealing the morphine and assisting in a suicide.

When the police went through Remy's possessions, they discovered her copy of the will with instructions to contact Greg and Lucy to identify the body. Afterwards, Greg had become so distraught that she had died alone, Lucy thought he was going to turn to drugs to get through it and she seriously considered joining him. Lucy had only known Remy for a short time, but had liked her a lot. She couldn't have even imagined the agony Remy had been in at the end.

Huntington's is a cruel disease, but in death, Remy looked nearly as beautiful as she had before the disease started to claim her life.

Lucy supported Greg as he fought the urge to numb himself with Vicodin or worse, always nearby as he handled all the details of getting Remy's body back to Princeton, arranging her funeral and giving the eulogy.

Remy's father as well as the rest of her family was still stunned by what she had done to end her brother's suffering to be able to handle the arrangements. Remy's father was given a sedative so he could get through the services, held up by his brother and sister-in-law. His little girl had been alone when she took her life. He just couldn't grasp it.

Although he had remarried after his first wife died and started another family, Remy and her brother were still his flesh and blood and now the last tie to his old life was gone. Anton Hadley's second wife had welcomed Remy and her brother with open arms, but the guilt she and husband felt was overwhelming.

Lucy had never been so proud of Greg as she was throughout this whole ordeal. Sure, he drank a little more than he had been, but it could have been much worse and he held up under horrible circumstances.

Greg's mind went farther back in time to when he first came to Princeton and met Lucy and her family. They fell for each other hook, line and sinker. It took some doing, but he managed to convince her to elope and they had been happy.

Then his in laws were killed in a car accident and he couldn't handle it. Eventually, his drinking and reluctance to talk drove his wife away from him, her family and home for ten years.

The day Lucy left Princeton was the lowest point in his life, even lower than when Cuddy broke up with him and he nearly went off the deep end. It was the first day of a long stay in Hell for him.

He had blamed no one but himself and his inability to deal with emotional pain without some sort of crutch. When Frank and Lina died, Lucy's reaction floored him as well as the rest of the family. She never cried, going through the motions of making the funeral arrangements like a robot.

Greg stood by her, ready if she needed him, but somehow he thought that he was alone. He was so grief-stricken himself, he couldn't see that although Lucy was indeed the strong one, this time she needed him as much as he needed her.

The self destructive part of his personality took over. Drinking enough to drive his wife away from him and her home, drug use/abuse after his infarction, just generally punishing himself over losing Lucy, always looking for but failing to find the happiness and comfort he had with her.

Lucy had attempted a reconciliation several times, and each time he turned her down, trying to convince her she was better off without him. Even though Greg desperately wanted Lucy to come back to him, he stubbornly and inexplicably kept pushing her away.

Contradicting his words and actions and hoping she was still as stubborn as ever and would try at least one more time, he had bought Lucy a new engagement and wedding ring so that they could start over.

Unfortunately, the last time Lucy tried was right around the time Greg almost went to jail for possession with intent to distribute drugs and he said no to her again.

Even though Greg knew Lucy didn't know anything about the impending drug trial, he had somehow jumped to the conclusion that she was only coming back out of pity and that was a price he wasn't willing to pay for her to come back to him.

That was the last time Lucy called him. Greg finally managed to convince her to stop wasting her time, and he imagined the hurt look on her face, the same one that was burned in his brain from the night he told her he had wasted his time marrying her. He had never been able to forget that look.

Brokenhearted, Lucy knew he was lying but even as stubborn as she herself was, she couldn't get around the wall Greg had erected around himself. It wasn't in her nature to be a quitter, but she didn't see a way back to Greg and the life they had started to build. She wasn't used to failing.

In Orlando, Lucy continued with the solitary existence she had created for herself, focused on her work, pretty much what she had done in medical school, socializing only with a circle of friends she had made at work, turning away all advances.

But unlike medical school, this time Lucy knew the emptiness she felt was loneliness. Outwardly, she was the same old Lucy, happy, playing baseball, but going home to an empty townhouse, often crying herself to sleep.

Greg put the rings in the bottom of his t-shirt drawer and forgot about them.

He got shit-faced drunk that night and many nights after that, with Jim dutifully going to whatever bar he called from, bringing him home and pouring him into his bed, keeping vigil at his bedside to make sure he didn't choke on his vomit if that should happen.

Greg would wake up in the morning and stumble into his shower, washing off the smell of the bar he had been in the night before. Wilson would change the bed sheets and was always gone by the time Greg was finished with his shower, leaving a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. No words were exchanged between the two about the drinking.

After Cuddy lied in court for him to keep his stubborn ass out of jail, Greg's Vicodin consumption began to spiral out of control. His addiction eventually led him to hallucinations, a stay in a mental hospital and a suspended medical license, all the while unsuccessfully pushing all thoughts of Lucy out of his mind.

Again, Lucy knew about a few of the things that had happened, but no one ever gave her all the details. When she had been told that Greg had gone into rehab, it had been a relief to her because she still worried about him. Her aunt had conveniently left out one small detail. Loretta didn't tell her niece Greg's rehab was in a mental hospital.

Nolan had told them they had the "tools" to make their relationship last "'til death do us part". By "tools", he meant communication. Nolan knew within minutes after meeting Lucy that she had no problems "communicating" and wouldn't give up this time.

From the brief conversations he had with her, he knew that she had always known leaving Greg was a mistake. It would be a fight, but Lucy would succeed where he himself had failed with Greg.

Long before Jim pleaded with her to come home, Lucy had come to understand that she should have gone to one of her aunts or anyone in her family for help when her marriage began to unravel and she shouldn't have taken Greg's "no" for an answer the first time he rejected her attempts at a reconciliation. She shouldn't have given up on their marriage.

The guilt she felt was indescribable, knowing that her own stubbornness played a part in the mess Greg had created for himself. Lucy wouldn't make that mistake again. She loved him too much to let him destroy himself.

Even with these "tools" as Nolan called them, the beginning of their second marriage hadn't been easy for either one of them.

Greg started to fill in all the gaps for Lucy when he was discharged from the hospital before they went to Florida to sell Lucy's townhouse and get married again. Nolan had officially cleared him for work with the stipulation that Lucy or Greg call him at any time they felt there was a situation they couldn't resolve themselves.

Their new jobs at Saint Sebastian's started May second and Chase, Taub and Foreman were leaving Princeton Plainsboro to join Greg and Lucy there.

Even though Lucy was busy buying furniture, packing, dealing with the utility and cable companies, and arranging for movers for Greg's furniture, there was plenty of time for talking and arguing, mostly arguing!

Lucy was like a terrier during these conversations/arguments. She wouldn't let go until she had pulled every last bit of information of each incident that she could from Greg. The uncannily wise young girl that had gently probed him for information in the past had taken an extended vacation.

Lucy had grown a bit wiser over the years and there was no way she was going to have a repeat of what happened when her parents died. This time around was for keeps. Greg would talk and listen to reason even if she had to twist his arm! Lucy would fight with him and for him to help him beat the odds and stay clean and make him realize that he could be happy!

As Greg slowly filled in the events of the past ten years, sometimes Lucy would just stop what she was doing and walk away from him in frustration, locking herself in the bedroom, not wanting to hear anymore. But those times were few and far between. More often than not, Lucy just got angry enough to start a very loud argument and then walk out of the apartment at least a half dozen times or more, just driving around, sometimes going to the mall, until she cooled off.

When Greg had told Lucy about what he had done to try and remember details of the bus accident that killed Amber, she went white as a sheet.

Greg had suffered a fractured skull in the accident. He wandered away from the scene and into a strip club before he came to his senses enough to get to the hospital. Amber, who had been Jim's girlfriend at the time, was also on the bus with Greg and had been critically injured and taken to Princeton General, not PPTH, identified only as a Jane Doe. Greg became obsessed with finding out why he kept seeing flashes of someone dying and wouldn't get the rest he needed for his head injury.

In trying to remember details of the accident, Greg first allowed Chase to hypnotize him, then hit upon the idea of recreating the accident. He took more than enough physostigmine to help jog his memory. All he could remember was that Amber had been gotten on the bus with him and had been injured as well, nothing more. As Greg was remembering the details, his heart stopped.

After Greg told her about the deep brain stimulation, the seizure it caused and going into a coma, he thought Lucy was going to be sick. Instead, she left the apartment again.

Nothing in her life or medical training had prepared her for what Greg had deliberately done to himself to help her brother and Amber. She would give her life to save Greg's, but what Jim asked him to do was reckless and unreasonable. Greg had already suffered a serious head injury and a heart attack, and her damn brother had the nerve to ask him to risk his life? For what?

Not that she would have wanted Amber dead, but what if Greg hadn't come out of the coma or died? What if he had come out of the coma with brain damage, his core personality still there, everything normal, but the diagnostic capability gone?

Being an average doctor wouldn't satisfy Greg, not with the memories of what he had been capable of doing burning in his mind. He would have gone on to something other than Vicodin until his body gave out or he accidentally OD'd.

Why hadn't anyone told her what was going on? She had been told Greg had been in an accident, but his injuries were limited to bumps and bruises.

Since he had rejected her final attempt at a reconciliation about a year or so before the accident, Lucy decided bumps and bruises didn't require her presence in Princeton. Everything seemed to be under control, and why should she set herself up for rejection again even if Greg was lying about not wanting to get back together? She wasn't a masochist and she was still hurting. In hindsight, maybe she should have pushed her feelings aside.

Even though Greg was afraid she would drive recklessly and get into an accident, he knew it was useless to get on his bike and try to find her. If he managed to catch up to her, she might take risks with her driving to get away from him and hurt herself.

Greg didn't give a damn if anything happened to his car. It was just a piece of junk that got him from Point A to Point B when he couldn't ride his bike, but it was old and didn't have any safety features beyond seatbelts. Definitely no air bags.

He just wanted Lucy home safe and sound and in his arms. She actually looked green when she ran out of the apartment. He had to wait and patience still wasn't one of his virtues, especially when Lucy did this.

Greg was worrying about nothing. Lucy was just driving the streets of Princeton, carefully concentrating on what she was doing so she wouldn't think about the rising nausea in the pit of her stomach.

Eventually, she made a stop at a convenience store for ginger ale to help settle her stomach. As she sat in the parking lot sipping the soda, Lucy cursed herself soundly for leaving Greg.

Lucy would have never allowed the surgical alternative Cuddy offered Stacy if she had stayed with Greg, and she knew damn well if he hadn't signed over his medical proxy and had left it with Tony and Liza, they would at least have called her to ask her to recommend another doctor to advise them and not gone against his wishes. Keeping him in a medically induced coma made sense to get him through the worst of the pain.

Actually, she would have never let things get as far as they did to require the surgery in the first place. She would have pushed for a quicker diagnosis, working with the doctors herself if she had to.

Lucy had only known about the cardiac arrest Greg had after the infarction. Now, not only did she know what happened to Greg when he tried to remember the details of the bus crash that killed Amber, he had also told her about nearly electrocuting himself a few months before that and every other medically dangerous thing he had done to himself. For the life of her, she didn't understand why he would do those things and she wasn't sure she wanted any further explanations.

Now Lucy started thinking about the infarction, the heart attack after, its possible causes, how much damage was done to his heart, his bender and his last round of blood work before he was discharged from PPTH. Greg had never let anyone do a complete work up on him since his infarction. Even the tests done when Jim forcibly hospitalized him after his bender weren't thorough. Just basic blood work, nothing extensive.

At the time, the results of Greg's blood work were about what Lucy expected for an adult who had just come off a bender, even the elevated cholesterol and liver enzyme levels. His kidney function was a little off, but he had been swallowing Ibuprofen like candy, much like he had done with Vicodin.

The absence of any STD's shocked everyone but Lucy because she remembered how careful he had been with her in the beginning, protecting her from a poorly timed pregnancy, so she knew no matter how messed up he was, he would use a rubber.

There had to be something more to the infarction than what Lucy was seeing in Greg's medical file. Were they dealing with some sort of clotting issue that no one thought to look for?

Lucy was putting an end to all of Greg's stubbornness and willingness to keep things to himself. He was going to a see cardiologist if Lucy had to hog tie him and throw him in his car to get him there!

First, Lucy paid Aunt Loretta a visit, giving her a piece of her mind for not telling her exactly what was going on with Greg. Liza was there and Lucy gave her a piece of he her mind as well.

"Aunt Loretta, what the hell did you hope to accomplish by keeping me in the dark? What you all did was wrong in so many ways, I don't even know where to start! Did you know I kept trying to get back together with Greg and he kept turning me down? Did he bother to tell you? Of course not. He finally managed to convince me he didn't want me anymore and I just stopped trying even though I knew he was lying. If you hadn't played his game and told me the truth, maybe none of this would have happened. I would have come home after Stacy left him. Please tell me what the hell you got out of this! Were you trying to punish me for daring to get divorced? My brother's been divorced three times. Why aren't you "punishing" him as well? What did you all accomplish? Making me feel guilty for everything that happened? I don't need any help with that one! I've been living with guilt ever since I filed the divorce papers and it hasn't stopped yet. Greg's life has been a living hell all this time because he's a stubborn jackass, and you all went along with his games! How could you do that to him, to us?"

Lucy turned to Liza. "And what about you Liza? What's your excuse? You and Tony came to Virginia with us when we got married, for Christ's sake. You even gave us a little reception down there. Hell, what's Tony's excuse? I trusted you both with Greg's medical proxy and you let it get away from you and into Stacy's hands. How is it that not even my own brother told me the truth until Greg went on this bender? A divorce doesn't automatically mean you stop caring. If I could have my way, my choice would be to leave town with Greg and forget you're my family, but he wants to stay in Princeton with his merry little band of enablers. But that doesn't mean I have to talk to any of you anytime soon if ever, and I won't allow you to interfere with my marriage!

Lucy turned on her heel and walked out of her aunt's kitchen.

Neither woman said one word in self defense during Lucy's ranting. There really wasn't anything for them to say. They knew going along with Greg was wrong. Everyone in the family knew that Lucy's motivation to come back to Greg would never be pity, but no one could convince him of that. Love would always be her motivation, and he should have never thought otherwise.

Unfortunately, Greg didn't see it that way, so he lied through his teeth and finally thought he had made Lucy believe he wasn't interested in her any longer. No one in the family believed him anymore than Lucy did, but they went along with him anyway, even though it served no purpose and had nearly cost him his life more than once. Thank God Jim had finally realized enough was enough and got Lucy to come home now!

Once Lucy got back to the apartment, she was still madder than a hornet.

Liza had called to tell Greg the jig was up and Lucy knew what had gone on behind her back all these years, so he was prepared for anything when she came back.

Lucy came back home, slammed the apartment door shut, locked it and totally ignored Greg. She just went to the kitchen to start their dinner, and all of her responses to him were one or two words.

Greg couldn't stand the curtness of her replies, but didn't dare push her. She might take off again and leave him worrying until she came back or not come back at all, so he let her be and they had a rather tense dinner, their usual banter missing because Lucy chose to read a book while she ate.

Uncle Tony and Aunt Loretta paid them a visit later in the evening, and Lucy went back to the bedroom and locked the door, refusing to speak to her aunt.

Loretta tried to apologize to her niece through the closed door, but didn't get a response, so they left with Loretta wringing her hands over what she had allowed to happen.

Lucy slept with her back to Greg that night, but she didn't push him away or tense up when he put his arm around her and whispered he was sorry. She was too busy trying not to cry.

Lucy didn't ask Greg what he wanted to do, she just told him what they were going to do next about his physical problems, which nearly started a riot, but Lucy wouldn't budge from her position and he knew he had no choice. Besides, what Lucy had said about his blood clotting finally intrigued him as much as it had her.

Now Greg wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself! Oh, yeah, he had been busy throwing his own pity party all these years!

Since they wouldn't be working at PPTH, Cantrell had recommended a pain management specialist and a physical therapist at Saint Sebastian's to oversee Greg's follow up for his leg the day he told Cuddy he quit. Lucy researched both and was satisfied with what she found.

Armed with every bit of medical information of Greg's that had been on file at PPTH, Lucy, never one to settle for second best, went straight to the head of cardiology at Saint Sebastian's, who happened to be the top cardiologist in the state, before they even saw the pain management specialist.

After completing his work up on Greg, Dr. Linton determined that in spite of everything Greg had done to himself over the years, the damage to his heart wasn't nearly as severe as he expected it to be. An arteriogram showed that there was no narrowing or weaknesses in any arteries, including the infarction site The important thing was to deal with was the clotting issue.

Dr. Linton couldn't find a specific cause, genetic or otherwise for the hyper coagulation, even after brainstorming with Greg. Any idea that they could come up with didn't completely fit the scenario they were working with. Since they couldn't find any cause that fit, Linton decided to put Greg on Plavix for a month as a starting point. A blood test done two weeks after he started the medication showed marked improvement.

Greg continued taking Plavix for another two weeks, then on dosages meant to taper him off the drug for another month and was then put on an aspirin regimen when he was finished as a precaution against further clots. The potential for internal bleeding, among other things, existed with Plavix, so Lucy watched Greg like a hawk while he was on the medication. He would have full cardiology work ups twice a year for the rest of his life.

Lucy was determined to get Greg back into as good a shape as possible and keep him that way with a better diet and exercise whether he liked it or not. They would go with medication as a last resort if her efforts didn't work.

In spite of all the Vicodin and drinking and Lord knows what else Greg had done over the years since she divorced him, his liver enzymes were at a level that really weren't dangerously high, a shock in itself, but when Lucy added them to all the test results and Greg's history over the past ten years, she was puzzled. There should have been some serious, irreversible damage done to his liver, it should have been fried beyond repair. How did he manage to survive?

Lucy was almost positive that Greg hadn't done all that much drinking when he was with Cuddy. As far as Lucy was concerned, that was the only good thing she did for Greg. In spite of his long-term abuse of Vicodin and alcohol, and all the drinking and Vicodin he had done on his bender after being clean for almost two years, Greg's liver was in relatively good shape, a medical anomaly. How much more would his liver heal itself with the right care?

Lucy had always cooked healthy but it didn't taste that way and Greg never felt deprived of anything. Although they usually had wine with their meals, without realizing it, Greg went from being someone who could and often did drink heavily on almost a daily basis before his breakdown and before he got involved with Cuddy, to a social drinker. Take out wasn't completely eliminated. Every so often, even Lucy wanted fast food or take out of some kind.

Greg quickly began to blossom under Lucy's care. She still worked out and took the occasional yoga class, so she made sure he got his exercise, swimming when the weather was warm, and bought a stair climber for him to use when he couldn't use their pool. He still had bouts of insomnia, but it wasn't as much of a problem as it used to be.

Considering all the abuse he had heaped on his body for years, Greg still had a pretty good physique for a man his age, but with the improved diet and exercise, he actually put on some of the muscle he had lost, looking nearly as good as when he first came to Princeton. His HDL and LDL levels fell to slightly below normal as well and would stay there for the rest of his life. His liver enzyme count dropped to normal. With regular cardio work outs, he was able to strengthen his heart.

He could take walks without having to stop to massage his bad leg, and Lucy proved to be a better masseuse than Brandi was, and her unconditional love for him as he was and willingness to help him heal physically and mentally allowed him to play with his children, be the father he never had.

Another "discussion" started early one morning after breakfast shortly before they moved into their house. Lucy was packing Greg's books, but kept pushing for an explanation for why he turned her down flat every time every time she attempted a reconciliation.

"Why, Greg? Why keep everything from me? Even if you didn't want to get back together, didn't you want someone around who really cares for you? My gut told me something was wrong, but no one would tell me much of anything, least of all you! You put us both through hell, you more than me! And for what? So the great Gregory House could be right yet once again? That all you needed was a bottle of bourbon and bottle of pills along with a few hookers as a chaser and to hell with human contact and love? Just what the hell did you prove besides nearly killing yourself more than once, you moron!" Lucy yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Lucy, what the hell are you talking about, your gut told you something was wrong? Who told you anything at all until your brother got you to come home? By the way, I know you flew up here regularly to visit your parent's graves. Why didn't you try to see me if you even suspected anything?" Greg yelled right back at her.

Lucy's mouth dropped open.

Greg gave a short bitter laugh. "How can you be surprised that I knew you were flying back and forth to visit you parents's graves? You didn't have to high tail it back to Philly to catch the next flight back to Orlando every time you were here! You never tried to see me!"

"Why should I have tried to see you, Greg? Every time I called you, you blew me off! Did you want to look at me while you were rejecting me so you could get off on how much you were hurting me? You wouldn't have been any more receptive to me face to face than you were on the phone. How did I know something was wrong? Did you really think Aunt Loretta or Liza would keep completely silent? Tony and Liza brought the boys down every year for a visit. Aunt Loretta called me at least once a week if not more, dropping hints without actually telling me the whole story. That's how I knew my gut feeling was right even though no one would tell me a damn thing! I made a mistake! Feel better now?" Lucy hissed as she continued ranting.

"How the hell did you get the whole family to play along with you, and how the hell did you know that I've been visiting the cemetery all this time? Did you have me followed, you sneaky son of a bitch? I never told anyone I was flying back and forth!" Lucy started yelling again. She was about two minutes away from throwing something at Greg.

"Lucy, I was grasping at straws, floundering when you left. I took a chance on your father's birthday and went to the cemetery, prepared to stay there all day if I had to. I didn't have to wait long. You took the first morning flight into Philly from Orlando then and every time after. I thought you would stay for the day, maybe visit your aunt and I could "accidentally" drop by, but you never did. I followed you every time, and you headed straight back to the airport. I watched you from behind a tree, hoping against hope that you would turn and see me. You always brought fresh flowers and stood there for about twenty minutes, I guess you were praying, but I couldn't walk up to you and apologize and comfort you like you always did me. I owed you at least that much, but I couldn't do it. But I knew you would come back for your mother's birthday, Mother's and Father's Day and Christmas and Easter. You were paying attention to the weather here because you even flew up for the first snow fall every year and built a little snowman like you and your father used to do. I lived for those days, hiding behind that damn tree no matter what the weather or how much pain I was in just to get a quick glimpse of you. You never looked around. You prayed or whatever and left. I only missed a few of your visits when I was in Mayfield, and it almost killed me. I even did it when I was with Cuddy. She never found out." Greg said in a much lower tone of voice.

"Bullshit!" Lucy cried, her entire body shaking in anger, temporarily speechless. That feeling that she always had of being watched when she visited her parent's graves hadn't been her imagination after all and in her own misery, she sure as hell didn't notice anyone following her out of the cemetery!

Greg was immediately contrite, but before he could say or do anything, Lucy regained control of herself.

"Greg, how stupid can you be? Every time I called you to see if we could work things out, make another go of it, you blew me off, but you haunted the cemetery a half dozen times a year to catch a glimpse of me? Even for you, that's off the wall! If you still went to the cemetery when you were with Cuddy, that should have sent up smoke signals all over the place that I still had a place in your heart, but you still wouldn't listen! Instead you listened to my idiot brother. Was it all worth it just to scratch an itch you had for Cuddy? If you wanted me back that badly, all you had to do was step out from behind that damn tree and ask! It was always in your power to stop me from divorcing you, but you crawled into a bottle instead! You shut me out completely. I tried to save our marriage, but I couldn't reach you! I needed you as much as you needed me. Every time I tried to put our life back together, you tore it apart! That was the first time in my life I couldn't solve something, the first thing I failed at. Everything bad that happened to you since the infarction wouldn't have happened if you had sobered up and stopped me from leaving you. I would have fought tooth and nail to prevent that surgery, fought for less drastic alternatives, just like I'm fighting for you, for us and this marriage now! Divorcing you was a mistake and the hardest, most painful thing I ever did, but I didn't think I had any other choice and you sure as hell didn't give me reason to think otherwise! I hated every minute I spent in Orlando! I was alone and miserable and hurting more than I thought possible for anyone to hurt, but I finally gave up on trying to get back together with you. I tried to make myself believe what you had been telling me all along, that I was better off without you. I was tired of making myself hurt more than I already did. You claimed you didn't want me, I stayed away."

Greg knew Lucy was right, but he lashed out at her anyway, even though he knew he could screw things up for good this time. She was rubbing salt on a still raw wound.

"Speaking of alone and miserable, Lucy, do you really expect me to believe you never dated or slept with any one while you were in Florida? Considering how much you like sex, I find that one a little hard to accept, especially since you started drinking!"

Greg immediately regretted saying that. He knew Lucy wouldn't lie to him, especially about that. She just wasn't capable of it. She had been surprisingly open and honest with him about what little love life she had when he first met her and they spent many lunch hours in his office taking about that as well as everything else under the sun.

Greg had never met anyone like Lucy before or since that could hold their own in a conversation with him and beat him at poker. He already knew the process of opening up and dealing with his demons was painful, but he didn't want to hurt Lucy more than he already had, but he just couldn't help himself. The floodgates were open, but that's what Nolan expected from them.

Still, Lucy didn't deserve that remark from him and now she had the same look on her face as she did the night he told her he had made a mistake marrying her in the first place, only this time instead of tears, Lucy got mad.

"You lousy son of a bitch!" Lucy growled. "You lousy, no good son of a bitch! When I drank, I drank alone at home, trying to forget you. I couldn't get drunk enough to forget what you looked like or how it felt when we made love, but I didn't go out cruising the bars for a quick lay to try and make me forget either! As drunk as I got, I knew that would never happen! I don't give a rat's ass if you believe me or not! I slept alone for ten years, not even a one-night stand. I'm not a dog like you, screwing anything that walks by me. I only wanted you! You're still the only one I want, fool that I am! Don't you dare say that to me when you didn't waste any time hooking up with Stacy after I left, you bastard!"

Lucy's hands were at her sides, but they were curled into fists. She was ready for a fight.

Greg winced when Lucy called him a bastard because he still thought he was one, but he didn't respond to her. He deserved to be called that and more.

This argument was escalating beyond control and Lucy had to get out of the apartment before she said something she couldn't take back, even if it weren't true, like marrying Greg again was a mistake. He would believe that no matter what she said by way of apology.

Greg was getting better by the day, but he was still emotionally raw. She wouldn't take any risks, even if he had just hurt her again by claiming not to believe her when she said she'd been alone for ten years.

Time to bug out. Lucy grabbed Greg's car keys and her purse and ran out of the apartment with Greg calling after her to stop, that he was sorry. He threw his cane on the sidewalk in frustration as he got outside just in time to see Lucy peel away from the curb like the devil was chasing her.

Lucy went to her house this time. Her cousin Gina and her family had been living there since Lucy left town. They moved out six months ago when her husband's consulting business finally took off. Since Lucy had put what she wanted to keep in climate-controlled storage, she told Gina and Bob to take what they wanted when they bought their new house, appliances and all, and donate what they didn't want to Goodwill or a charity of their choosing. No point in letting everything rot.

The minute Gina moved out, Loretta went into action. In the ten years that Lucy had been in Florida, she felt guilty about not telling her niece the truth about Greg. She knew it was wrong and she had had enough of the situation. She was going to bring Lucy back home one way or another.

Loretta knew Lucy would be very, very mad at her and the rest of the family when she found out the truth and might not speak to any of them for a long time, if ever, but she was willing to risk it as long as Lucy came home.

The whole family felt guilty that they hadn't seen what was going on with Greg and Lucy, but they knew they shouldn't have gone along with Greg's wishes that Lucy not be told anything. Greg had remained as close to the family as he knew how to be without Lucy at his side, but his choices in women flabbergasted Loretta.

First there was Stacy, who authorized the surgery on Greg that changed his life forever and who even tried to attend family functions that Greg had been invited to, something that did not go over very well with the Russo-Mazzelli familiglia.

Even though Stacy wasn't fond of kids, she tried to be friendly with Tony and Liza's boys because of their attachment to Greg, hoping to gain acceptance that way, but they openly snubbed her and were as rude as little boys could be and none of the adults stopped them. Tony and Liza knew they should have made their sons apologize to Stacy, but they didn't care for Stacy either and were glad when she left Greg, but not happy at how Greg handled it.

Then it was Lisa Cuddy, who had taken her brother-in-laws's place at the helm of PPTH and who seemed to monopolize every spare minute of Greg's time. When he managed to get his alone time, Greg usually spent all or part of it with Tony and Liza, remaining especially close to their four boys. In one way or another, each of them reminded him of Lucy and for a few hours he could be happy.

Loretta didn't care how it happened, Lucy was going to come home and Greg was going to come to his senses!

Aunt Loretta and Liza descended on the house with a cleaning crew, scrubbing it from top to bottom. For once, Liza agreed with her mother-in-law's meddling and wanted Lucy to come home as well. She had a case of the guilts because she agreed to go along with Greg and not tell Lucy anything.

Although there was a big age difference between them (she was two years younger than Greg), they had always been close friends and Liza missed Lucy terribly even though they had been in touch via email and phone almost daily and she and Tony had taken kids down to Florida for three weeks every year for a visit while Lucy was there.

For at least a month after they came back from every Florida trip, practically every other word out of their mouths was, "Lucy this, Lucy that. When's Lucy coming home, Mommy?"

As they got older, "Mom" replaced "Mommy", but the sentiment remained the same. They missed Lucy. Helping her mother-in-law get the house back in shape assuaged Liza's guilt a little bit.

Once the house was scrubbed clean, Loretta brought in the painters, repainting every wall in the same soft eggshell color Lina had used and had all the hardwood floors polished to pristine perfection. Loretta had all new custom window shades made and draped new, delicate hand-made sheers on the windows. She wasn't decorating to her tastes. Lina had included Lucy when she and Frank had remodeled the house, and the window treatments were Lucy's idea.

Then Loretta had all the furniture Lucy had in storage moved into the house. Now all she had to do was figure out a way to get Lucy back to Princeton. As it turned out, she didn't have to do anything because Greg had almost gone off the deep end, and Jim took care of things for her. She could now focus on getting her niece and Greg back together, but it turned out she didn't have to do that either. They eloped again, but Loretta vowed to see them married in church like her sister and brother-in-law would have wanted, so she still had meddling to do!

The first time Lucy had let herself into her house after ten years, she looked around in amazement. She knew the house would be empty because she told Gina she could have the furniture and appliances she had left behind, but she didn't expect to see house that was in move in condition, perfectly clean and smelling faintly of fresh paint.

As Lucy walked through the downstairs, she saw the new shades and sheers on all the windows, and the furniture she had in storage all these years placed exactly the way it had been when her mother was alive. Everything was covered with sheets for the time being. Aunt Loretta must have gotten it out of storage when she came home.

The boxes with pictures and other mementos were neatly stacked, waiting for Lucy to place them where she wanted.

Lucy was touched by her aunt's loving gesture and the confidence she had that she would somehow get Lucy home where she belonged. Lucy pulled out her cell phone and called her aunt.

"Aunt Loretta, what the hell did you do to my house?" Lucy asked forcing anger into her voice that she really didn't feel, but she knew was expected.

Aunt and niece had always sparred with each other, practically from the time Lucy could talk, especially over Lucy's career choice, but there was no doubt they loved each other.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady. I'm still your aunt and you're not too old for me to take you over my knee! I just had it cleaned and repainted because I had enough of your stubbornness and decided to get you back home any way I could. I should have done it much sooner. Now if there's nothing else, I'm meeting your uncle for lunch and I have some errands to run before that. Let me know if you need any help." Loretta hung up on Lucy and had a good laugh.

Although she had rightfully been upset because she knew she was wrong in hiding everything from her niece all these years, Loretta didn't care if Lucy was mad at her or not now. The important thing was that Lucy had come home and she and Greg were together again. That was all that mattered. The only thing rubbing her niece the wrong way was that she liked to do things herself, always had, even as a small child.

"Wow!" Lucy thought to herself. "Aunt Loretta actually admitting she was trying to interfere? What parallel universe did I fall into?"

But Lucy wasn't mad at her aunt any longer. The anger had evaporated when she told her aunt off for keeping the truth from her. How could she be mad, at least for very long, at the woman who was not only her aunt but her second mother and only wanted the best for her?

When Lucy let herself in the house today, she immediately felt some of the tension leave her body. This was home. Thanks to her aunt and Liza, she and Greg would be in the house by the end of the week, that is if she didn't kill him before then!

She looked in the kitchen cupboards and silently blessed her family. The shelves were stocked and the new walk-in freezer was full. She just needed to get the daily staples. Except for her bedroom furniture and her personal belongings, Lucy left everything in the townhouse she sold to her friend and co-worker.

She also sold her car to one of the doctors she worked with, and which Greg was still grumbling about.

In an effort to ease some of the pain she was in over her divorce, Lucy had learned to drive a stick and bought herself a mint condition 1974 red Corvette convertible - the year she was born. The car was bad ass and she attracted attention everywhere she went, but it did nothing to ease her pain. It just reminded her of Greg's like of sports cars.

Lucy remembered how his eyes had glazed over when he saw the car and the pained look on his face when she signed the title of the car over to its new owner. He started moaning and groaning about it over lunch.

Lucy had handed Greg the keys and they had taken a long drive with the top down before lunch and meeting her doctor friend at a notary.

"Lucy, how could you sell that car? I would have paid to have it shipped back to Princeton! How could you do it?"

Greg was in love with the car, plain and simple. It handled like a dream and driving it with Lucy sitting next to him, face turned up to the sun, was a dream come true that he didn't realize he had!

Ever practical, Lucy responded, "Greg, do you want to move down here? We live in New Jersey. That car handles like crap in the snow. It's a car for Florida. I know we can afford to have it shipped back home and just use it when the weather's warm, but have you checked the insurance rates on it? If we could use it all year round, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd rather ride your bike anyway."

"You really want to ride the bike? Or are you being agreeable and saying that because you think that's what I want to hear?" Greg asked in amazement. "I've been waiting for you to tell me to get rid of it!"

He got Cuddy on the bike once and she hated it.

"Hell yeah I want to ride that bike, and since when do I tell you anything you want to hear? Why would I make you get rid of it?" Lucy retorted as she successfully stole a fry off Greg's plate.

Greg never answered her. He just kept chewing his burger while he looked at her in amazement. Lucy had said she wanted to ride the bike when she saw it, but Greg thought she was just humoring him and he would have to get rid of it.

Not only was Lucy willing and eager to ride the bike, she just knew that it would make him happy that they shared yet another interest that he didn't have to force on her. But then again, they had managed to find common interests from the beginning without trying.

The movers had delivered Lucy's things from Florida and Loretta brought over family pictures and movies that she had been keeping for her niece.

Greg insisted on paying for the new furniture and appliances, but had refused to go furniture shopping with Lucy because he claimed that since he was gladly footing the bill for the new furniture and bringing his own furniture over as well, his part was done.

All he (actually Lucy) needed to do was pack his belongings and make arrangements for the piano to be moved. The piano was the only thing he was taking full responsibility for; Lucy refused to have anything to do with it. If anything happened during the move, he couldn't blame her. It would be between him and the piano movers!

Greg's piano would be in "The Man Cave". The only thing Gina hadn't taken was the piano Lucy had played on when she was young. Gina's kids had taken lessons but weren't really interested in it any longer, so it was left behind when she and Mark moved into their new house. Loretta had it tuned and it was in its spot in the family room, ready to play.

Lucy had a big surprise planned for Greg's "Man Cave" She bought a sixty inch wall mounted plasma TV for him. It had already been installed along with a new TV and DVD player/recorder in the bedroom. There was a new TV in their bedroom and the family room as well.

Some of Greg's medical books and journals were already here and Lucy worked off some of her anger by putting them in the bookcase in her father's old office, along side Frank's medical texts that Lucy had kept. She also took his guitars downstairs, putting them safely in the bedroom closet until he decided where he wanted them.

She unpacked his books and DVD collection, purposely putting his porn at the back of the highest shelf just to be annoying. She really didn't care about the porn, she was just being ornery.

As Lucy put Greg's music collection on the shelves, carefully handling the vinyl records, she noticed a lot of Blues artists like Dr. John, Leadbelly, and so on. Some of her co-workers in Orlando played the music often in the doctor's lounge. That was about the limit of Lucy's knowledge of blues & jazz, but what she heard she liked.

Why hadn't Greg shared his love of this music with her before? From the looks of this collection, he didn't become a fan after she left him. This looked like an almost life-long devotion. She knew he hadn't put these in storage when he moved here. They were too valuable. Where had he. . . ?

Then she remembered that there had been several boxes in what had been his room when he first came to Princeton that he never unpacked. His record collection must have been packed in those boxes.

Greg had always listened to what she liked, and there was evidence that he did like the same music she did in his CD collection, but he had never asked her to listen to anything else, and to be honest, she had taken for granted that their musical tastes were the same. That was going to change.

Lucy's iPod was in her purse and the computer she set up in her father's old office had her playlists on it. She went upstairs and downloaded the songs that she was already familiar with so she could get a better feel for the music.

Greg had been calling her cell every fifteen minutes or so, but Lucy wouldn't answer. She wasn't completely cooled off and didn't want to start anything up again. Lucy had worked up a good sweat with the unpacking she had done and while the computer was synching the new songs on her iPod, she took empty boxes to the garage. She looked at her watch. Four thirty. Time to go back to the apartment, mad or not.

Greg had been pacing the apartment, furiously rubbing his leg when he heard Lucy open the door. He was in the kitchen debating on whether or not to make himself something to eat or wait for Lucy. He hadn't eaten anything but a peanut butter and jelly sandwich shortly after she left and had been drinking coffee all day, waiting for her to come back. His stomach was churning.

He headed for the door as fast as his leg would allow when he heard her key turn the lock, trying to pull her into his arms while she locked the door. Still a little angry, Lucy pushed past him and made her way to the kitchen to start dinner. As much as she wanted to go straight back to the bedroom, she was still mad enough to say no, something she rarely did with Greg.

Greg went into the kitchen to see Lucy pulling something out of the freezer for dinner. He stopped her and put the meatloaf back. The glare on his wife's face didn't stop him. Under other circumstances, the "Lucy Glare" would have made him laugh. Not tonight.

"I'm sorry, baby." was all he said. He had to make love to her now, to reassure himself that he wasn't still in Mayfield, hallucinating the whole thing. Lucy tried to get away from him, but he grabbed her and took her down the hall. They started in the shower, soaping each other up, toweling off and then stumbled into the bedroom, still fondling each other.

Greg pushed Lucy down on the bed and ran his hands all over her, gently fondling her boobs. Though they were large, they were still on the perky side and her nipples were already hardening in anticipation of what was coming.

Lucy reached up to take Greg's cock in her hand. She was already wet from their play in the shower.

Before Lucy had a chance to pull Greg down on the bed with her, he flipped her over on her stomach and pulled her up on all fours. She struggled a bit until Greg whispered against her neck, "I won't hurt you, baby." He slowly slid his cock inside her.

"Sweet mother!" Greg said to himself as Lucy responded by pushing herself back on him so he filled her completely while she lowered herself on her elbows.

Greg shuddered at the sensation as he grabbed her by the hips and he began thrusting in and out, eliciting moans from Lucy that seemed to get louder with each thrust. He was rewarded by another flow of Lucy's juices as she clamped down on him.

"God, baby, you're tight." Greg grunted as he pumped Lucy harder.

As Lucy began moaning louder, Greg started pumping faster. He managed to slip his hand underneath her and rubbed her clit. Her walls clamped down on his cock again and Greg knew she was close, which was good because he didn't know how much longer he could last. He hadn't had bareback sex for so long, he'd been having a hard time controlling himself. If she would only let him take a Viagra! He'd fuck her all night!

A few more strokes and she went over the edge with her orgasm, holding him tight inside her as she moaned loudly and pushed herself tighter against him, making Greg feel every bit of her orgasm as he shot his load into her, calling her name as he shuddered with each spurt.

Greg rode the waves of his orgasm until he had nothing left to give her. He fell back on the pillows, gasping for air while a still shaking and thoroughly satisfied Lucy crawled into his arms, practically comatose from the intensity of her orgasm. He still had that affect on her.

"Fuck, baby! One of these days you're going to kill me!" He pulled her close as Lucy managed a giggle.

"Seems to me I've heard that somewhere before." she said looking up at him. "And you're still alive and kicking."

"It's like being next to a furnace with you, Lucy. You run hot anyway, but after we make love, I think I could cook eggs on you!" Greg watched as the pink flush slowly retreated from Lucy's body, but she remained warm. She looked up at him, eyes full of love.

Greg was starting to feel, dare he say it, happy? This was how he felt when he and Lucy first got involved. He didn't want to lose that feeling again.

They lay there for a few minutes "playing" with each other until Greg's stomach finally rebelled against not being fed all day and it started growling loudly, sending Lucy into an almost uncontrollable giggle fit. She reached over him for the phone and ordered Chinese.

Greg had an excellent opportunity to play with her ass while she ordered, cupping each cheek in his hand. Still a perfect fit!

"Why are we eating Chinese, baby?" Greg said as Lucy hung up the phone and he held her close, relishing the feel of her boobs against his chest. "I didn't think that was part of the new diet."

He didn't have any complaints about his new diet. Lucy was a good cook and their meals actually tasted like food. He hadn't felt this good in a long time, since Lucy had left town. They hadn't had a lot of fast food since she came home and he was surprised she ordered in.

"Chinese is quicker than defrosting that meatloaf and making dinner, and after that lovely little interlude, you deserve a treat." Lucy said as she blew a raspberry on his chest and got up to look for a robe. Greg still marveled at the fact that she still had no qualms walking around naked in front of him.

After all these years apart, he thought there would have been a little awkwardness, but she had never been shy about walking around naked in front of him to begin with. Cuddy always kept her robe on the floor next to the bed and put it on quickly when she got up.

Those two little matching dimples were still on Lucy's butt cheeks, and they still fascinated Greg. He sighed heavily as she put his robe on.

"Stop staring at my ass, you horny old goat!" Lucy said as she walked over to the bed and leaned down to kiss him.

"Have you forgotten I don't want you answering the door if you're not dressed?" Greg was now sitting up and had Lucy in a bear hug.

"Greg, the delivery boy would have to have X-ray vison to see through this robe! You can't see anything!" Lucy said smiling at him.

Greg lowered his head as he opened the robe, cupping her boobs in his hands as he sucked one nipple and then the other, sending shivers down Lucy's spine.

"Mine." he growled as he tongued each nipple. "No one gets to see them but me." Then he held her close.

"I didn't hurt you, did I, baby?" Greg whispered against her neck. Lucy pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"What are you talking about Greg?"

"You almost freaked out on me the first time I wanted to do it doggie style, and the few times we did it that way, . . ." Greg's voice trailed off as Lucy put her hand over his mouth.

"Greg, don't be silly. I'll admit it's not my favorite position, but did it sound like I was in pain? You've never done anything that physically hurt me. All you did was deprive yourself of a blow job." Lucy whispered as she kissed him.

The kiss deepened, tongues dancing around each other until they had to come up for air, and damned if Junior wasn't starting to wake up again!

"Get dressed." Lucy managed to get out. "The food will be here any minute."

Reluctantly, Greg put on his pajama pants and a t-shirt only a few minutes before the delivery boy came with the food. Lucy got them something to drink, put all the food on a tray and they ate in bed, with Greg unsuccessfully trying to steal Lucy's shrimp.

Lucy didn't ask anymore questions that night. It had been a rough day for both of them. She took the empty containers back to the kitchen and got ready for bed. Between arguing, unpacking all day and fantastic sex, she was beat, but she still intended to give Greg a blow job. When she came back into the bedroom, Greg had dropped his pajama pants and t-shirt on the floor and had found a movie to watch.

Lucy slipped out of his robe as she walked across to her side of the bed. She settled in next to Greg and slid her hand under the covers, taking him in her hand. Greg twitched in surprise.

"Now what are you doing, you horny little monkey?" Greg asked as Lucy's grip on his cock tightened and he quickly got hard.

Lucy gave him an innocent look. "You mean you don't know what's going on?" He grinned.

Greg was still grinning as he pushed the blankets out of the way so he could watch as Lucy blew raspberries all over him on her way down to give him a blow job. His hand ran up and down her back as she took him in her mouth, stroking him with one hand and squeezing his balls with the other, one finger putting pressure on that sensitive spot behind his balls.

"Oh, yeah, Lucy, that's so goood." he moaned as she took each ball in her mouth and licked and sucked it. Lucy took his cock back in her mouth and started moving her head up and down on him, sucking him as hard as she could. Greg couldn't take much more. She still gave the best head he ever had.

Again, Lucy cupped his balls in her hand and her finger slid to that sensitive spot. Just a little pressure as she sucked him harder and Greg began pumping her mouth hard, his hand holding her head still.

"Oh, yeah Lucy, yeah baby, suck me." Greg's voice trailed off as he blew his load in her mouth and she gently sucked the head of his cock, licking him clean, until he got too sensitive to take anymore. He pulled her off him and into his arms.

"I love you, Lucy." he whispered as she curled up against him. Lucy kissed his chest and threw her leg over him. Greg held her close as he watched her fall asleep as he had so many nights in the past before he dozed off himself.

The next morning, The Spanish Inquisition started again. When Greg finally got to the part when he was discharged from Mayfield, he thought Lucy would leave the apartment again, this time for good when he told her he thought he was in love with his boss, Lisa Cuddy.

"You had a one-night stand with her twenty some years ago and you turned that into a love affair for the ages? If that's the case, why am I here now? Why did we get married again? Why did we get married in the first place? Shouldn't you have tried harder to get back together with Cuddy, be what she wanted if she was "the one"? What was I to you when we were married before? Someone to amuse you in bed with my lack of experience or was I a substitute for her? What am I now? Still a substitute? Chopped liver? I need to know. I'm putting you on notice, I'm not a second string player. If I'm not the starter, you have a problem!" Lucy yelled as she let loose with a string of English and Italian cuss words.

"No, Lucy, you aren't chopped liver and you weren't someone to amuse me then or a substitute. You're my starter, always will be. You always satisfied me more than enough in and out of bed. You were and are still innocent in many ways and at least ten kinds of sexy rolled into one gorgeous little body, and you're still completely unaware of it or the effect you still have on me. I've never known anyone like you. You filled a hole in my heart that I didn't even know was there. You accepted me for what I am from Day One. You still believe in me now even though everyone else had given up on me. Even though I kept trying to convince myself I loved Cuddy, I knew something was missing. My pig headedness made me try to forget our marriage, all the hopes and dreams we had and everything it meant to me, to us."

Of course Lucy had known all the details about Cuddy and Greg when he was at Michigan. He had told her that long ago, but that didn't make her pull any punches, and she still kept calling him every name she could think of, switching back and forth between Italian and English.

She was as furious as Greg had ever seen her, but he didn't try to defend his actions. He still felt like he deserved to be called every name Lucy threw at him, but he continued with the story. Now more than ever it was important that he keep talking regardless of how much he wanted to deflect and hide. His very sanity and sobriety depended on it.

He had always thought it was funny watching Lucy when she lost her temper because she would say every cuss word she could think of but never drop an "F" bomb. The innocent face just didn't match the dirty mouth, and he loved it. He had the intelligence to wipe the smile off his face or he would have had more trouble on his hands than he already did!

Greg had only heard her use that word once in true anger, and she had been mad at her brother at the time. One time, they were arguing and she said it several times, but she was drunk and it led to some very hot sex, so he really didn't count it.

Greg didn't know it when he got out of Mayfield, but Cuddy was already involved with Lucas Douglas, a private investigator he himself had hired to investigate his new team, among other things. Fearing she would cause a still emotionally fragile House some sort of setback if he knew, Cuddy kept her private life private, even from Wilson, basically because he had a big mouth.

Wilson, who had given up hope of his sister ever coming back to Greg, had been encouraging him to tell Cuddy how he felt about her. He knew nothing about Lucy trying to reconcile with Greg and he thought he was doing the right thing for him. Lucy would eventually have it out with her brother for enabling Greg's behavior over the years, among other things!

Wilson should have left well enough alone. When Greg found out and the way he found out Cuddy and Lucas were together made him feel like he had been punched in the stomach. After initially trying to find ways to break Cuddy and Lucas up and she sent him on a Thanksgiving wild goose chase, Greg gave up. Even though he had admitted he "wasn't all right" about Cuddy and Lucas, his outward calmness made Wilson nervous as hell.

One of the conditions of Greg's discharge from Mayfield was that he not live alone until Nolan thought he was recovered enough to be on his own again, so he moved in with Jim. Lucy found that funny at first, especially when she found out about their "competition" and shenanigans over their cute neighbor Nora's attention, but when Jim started seeing his first wife again, he asked Greg to move out.

Lucy was already pissed at her brother for keeping her in the dark all these years and even more so now because now she knew all about the risks Greg had taken with his own life to try and help save Amber's. From Lucy's point of view, it was pretty hard to forgive her brother for leaving Greg hanging out to dry for his first wife Sam, especially when she found out he had bribed his team to spend time with Greg so he wouldn't feel totally alone and abandoned.

If there had ever been a time for her to come home, it was then, but Lucy was still in the dark and Greg couldn't see past his infatuation with Cuddy

Lucy was furious. Greg had a hard time trying to keep Lucy in the apartment so she wouldn't go after her brother and give him at least a piece of her mind, but she managed to storm over to Jim's loft anyway, with Greg following on his bike to make sure no one got hurt.

They had an ugly, nasty fight about everything Lucy perceived as being his fault concerning Greg, but they apologized to each other two days later.

While they remained close, the relationship was a little "off", but Lucy loved her brother and wouldn't let something like a "little off" keep him out of her life and Jim felt the same way. The same thing applied to the rest of the family. At some point, Lucy forgave, but she never forgot.

Greg told Lucy all about the events leading up to the day the crane collapsed in Trenton. He had been acting out because of Cuddy's relationship with Lucas, drinking heavily and getting into bar fights and waking up in a neighbor's apartment in their small son's bed after a night of drinking. He finally decided to try and be an adult and accept Cuddy's relationship with Lucas.

By way of apology and congratulations because Lucas had proposed to Cuddy, Greg had a copy of a book her great grandfather had written and was giving it to them as a peace offering to show his sincerity. That wasn't his original intention for the use of the book, but he thought it would go a long way in proving he had learned something in therapy.

Cuddy was in too much of a hurry to appreciate the gesture. He followed her to Trenton. That night would change Greg's life yet again. Initially the change would seem good for him, but it didn't last long.

Greg had located a survivor trapped in the rubble and eventually had to amputate her leg because they couldn't get her out any other way. She died from a fat embolus in the ambulance on the way back to PPTH. Greg had done everything right, and he lost Hannah anyway.

After yelling at Foreman, he went back to his apartment and found his "secret, secret, secret" stash of Vicodin in the hole in the wall behind the bathroom mirror. He held two pills in his hand, reliving the whole scene over, unaware of how much time had passed. He was ready to swallow the pills when Cuddy came in and stopped him with her declarations of love and she didn't want him to change, that she loved him for the man he was and so on.

The first mistake Greg made was to stop therapy with Nolan and impulsively charge full speed ahead into a relationship with Cuddy that was based on lies He had warned her there was no way for them to end but badly, but she didn't listen. There was no way for it to end but in a train wreck.

Problem Number One - Cuddy claimed she didn't want him to change who and what he was, that was why she loved him, but yet she expected him to behave a certain way in spite of that claim. It was almost like it was her intention all along to mold him into her idea of what she wanted a man to be, essentially throwing all of her declarations out the window because she knew how desperately he wanted it to work even though he had doubts.

Problem Number Two - Greg had always gone behind Cuddy's back when he had his mind set on a course of treatment for a patient, and Cuddy suddenly decided she wanted absolute honesty in every area of their relationship. It was worse when he was honest to her face. He couldn't win either way.

One of their first big arguments had been over the fact that he was able to compartmentalize their relationship (at least at first) and keep it separate from work and she couldn't or wouldn't.

From then on, the relationship started to deteriorate in little ways. Greg tried to be the best person he could for Cuddy, mostly out of fear of failing at yet another attempt at a relationship and of being alone. It was getting harder and harder for him to behave the exact opposite of his true personality, and his mind was not totally focused on his patients because of it. His ability to compartmentalize became compromised because of the relationship. He lost a few patients that might have been saved.

On more than one occasion, Greg tried to talk to Cuddy, but she usually managed to turn the tables and lay the blame on him, totally confusing him and making him try harder to be what he thought she wanted.

The relationship was getting rockier by the day when House had to go through health scares with Cuddy's mother, and then Cuddy herself, and never mind the fact that Cuddy more or less forced House to treat her mother even after Arlene dismissed him from her case.

At Cuddy's continued insistence, House continued to work on a diagnosis until it came out that he had Cuddy switch out Arlene's IV with an antibiotic, which she had a severe reaction to. By that time, House was so determined to solve the case, he goaded Cuddy into stopping her mother into having herself transferred to Princeton General. If the goading hadn't worked, Arlene quite possibly could have died.

When it came to Cuddy's scare, it looked like she might have terminal cancer, and while she had every reason and right to expect her boyfriend to be with her when she needed emotional support, she finally remembered too late it would never be House, that he couldn't do it. He couldn't deal with the possibility of losing her without numbing himself with Vicodin to be at her side, slipping almost two hard fought drug-free years.

The break up sent Greg into a tailspin fueled by Vicodin, booze and hookers and ended with him doing a cannon ball from his hotel room balcony into the pool below.

Before that happened, Wilson begged Cuddy to try and help House, but she said she couldn't help him anymore. She still loved him, but she couldn't help him because she claimed she was House's problem.

Wilson had witnessed House jumping from the balcony into the pool below and had forcibly put him in the hospital for observation. House had resisted at first because his stunt had gotten some adrenalin flowing and he wanted to party and drink some more, but the adrenalin rush quickly wore off, much to House's dismay, and he blindly let Wilson lead him to his car and to the hospital.

Wilson begged Cuddy to talk to House, at least to let him know she would be there for him, remain a part of his life, if not as a girlfriend, then as a friend.

Cuddy had been giving her relationship with House a lot of thought anyway, so in spite of it appearing that way, breaking up with him really wasn't all that an impulsive move on her part. She told Wilson that she was wrong in going into a relationship with House and that she needed someone she could depend on all the time. Deep down, she had known that all along House never would be that person, could never live up to what she wanted out of a relationship, no matter how hard he tried.

Before his breakdown, Greg had told her that "this is the only me you get", and she remembered it too late. She told Wilson that she had been way off base to think a relationship with him would work.

Saying those words out loud made Cuddy feel guiltier than she already did, but she still couldn't bring herself to reach out to him, which made her hate herself even more, especially since House had told her being in love with her had made him a crappy doctor and he was happy with it because she made him happy.

Knowing they could only hold Greg involuntarily for no longer than seventy two hours, Wilson moved fast. He immediately contacted Dr. Nolan to see what they could do. It turned they didn't have to do anything to keep Greg in the hospital. Greg didn't demand to be released like he had tried to do after he detoxed in Mayfield.

Although he displayed no outward signs of wanting to harm himself, anything that could be used to that end was removed from his room. It turned out no precautions were necessary. Greg House wasn't suicidal or totally self-destructive. His instinct to survive was still very strong.

The dive into the pool had been yet another attempt to feel something besides loathing and disgust for himself, to free himself from all the _**emotional**_ pain he was in, not to kill himself.

Obviously he had deluded himself into thinking he would be able to have a relationship with Cuddy like he had with Lucy. Now he knew that what he and Lucy had was a once in a lifetime thing that couldn't be recreated. She accepted him for himself, never asking him to change.

Greg wanted to be happy, but it seemed the only way he could even pretend to be happy without Lucy was to be drunk and/or stoned. If that what his destiny was, then John House had been right about him all along. He was a loser, no matter how successful and famous a doctor he had become.

He stared blankly at the TV, flipping channels, never staying on one for more than ten minutes. Greg was emotionally numb, bitter and uncommunicative.

Wilson and Dr. Nolan quickly decided to try and bring Lucy home. If there was a chance at getting Greg House anywhere near the man he was before Vicodin, Lucy was it. They were right.

When Lucy walked into his hospital room that day, Greg thought he was hallucinating again and almost freaked out, but when she walked across the room sat on his bed and put her arms around him, he believed Lucy was real, that he wasn't hallucinating. Hallucinations didn't smell faintly of "Obsession" and baby powder!

They started talking and arguing, getting everything out in the open, which would have kept Lucy from divorcing him in the first place. Lucy had also seen his medical records and even though she was looking at old scans, she was positive she knew what was causing some of his physical pain. Pinched nerves.

The treatment was a course of corticosteroids, physical therapy and massage. One of the massage techniques was called "Scar Desensitization Therapy" which basically involved massaging and gently stretching the scarred area of Greg's mangled thigh in several directions.

Greg laughed when the physical therapist started massaging his leg like that. Lucy was at that session and she wanted to know what was so funny.

"Lucy, there used to be a young lady by the name of Brandi who used to come to my apartment to do the same thing for me, but that was the only part of her profession that could be considered legal." Greg said with one of his crooked grins.

Lucy looked puzzled at first, then started giggling so hard she had to sit down. Greg loved that giggle.

"You mean a "happy ending"?" Lucy said when she caught her breath. "Other than the occasional happy ending, did this help you?"

"To a certain extent, and Cuddy made me give her up for the masseuse she used." Greg said with just a hint of the anger he felt toward her evident.

Back at Greg's apartment, the conversation continued.

"I take it Cuddy's masseuse wasn't as good as Brandi then?" Lucy said seriously. She almost understood Cuddy's insisting that Greg give up the masseuse, even though he had promised her Brandi wasn't giving him anymore happy endings, but when Greg then told her that Cuddy had refused to sleep with him until he gave Brandi up, Lucy lost it.

"Sexual blackmail and you of all people went for it?" Lucy's eyes darkened with anger. "She was denying you something that helped you? How could anyone do that?"

"I did as she asked because I thought I loved her and didn't want to fail at another relationship. I didn't want to be alone. I might as well tell you that I still kept using Brandi on the sly. I just made sure I knew Cuddy wouldn't be around when I did." Greg said.

Lucy saw the truth in Greg's eyes, that he had been telling Cuddy the truth when he said Brandi was just massaging his leg and nothing more. Greg may have given her no choice but to leave him, but the one thing he had never done was lie to Lucy, except to tell her he didn't love her anymore. Cuddy wasn't prepared to believe Greg House was capable of telling the truth about anything.

Greg put his arms around Lucy and she tried unsuccessfully to get away from him.

"Baby, I thought I loved her." Greg whispered against her hair when he finally was able to put his arms around her.

"Yeah, right." she grumbled against his chest. "Look what you did to yourself because of it! You were like a dog in heat! Jim should have just turned a fire hose on you to cool you off!"

Greg silenced her with a kiss and led her back to the bedroom. They stayed there until morning.

Determined to help Greg in any way she could, Lucy learned how to do the massage therapy. Within a month, the steroid treatment and physical therapy began working and Lucy was proven right. As time went on, Greg's pain was reduced to the point where he used Lidocain patches or heat packs most of the time, to which Lucy said a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening.

The way Greg had been swallowing Ibuprofen, he would have eventually caused damage to one or both of his kidneys or ended up with a bleeding ulcer. Lucy wanted to keep him off of prescription NSAID'S as well. The side effects weren't worth it and after another argument, Greg agreed they would just stick with the PT, patches, massages and the occasional muscle relaxer and see how things went for the time being.

Although there were things he would never do again, like run, over time, Greg's limp would become almost unnoticeable, and he was almost as healthy as he had been before the infarction. He even danced with his wife when Loretta finally got her way and they married for the third time in church. He returned to the golf course, able to play a quick nine holes. He used his cane more out of habit than anything else.

What was left of his thigh muscle was strengthened and developed through physical therapy and exercise. He was never completely pain free, but it was a more tolerable pain that didn't consume his every waking moment and sear his very soul. That might change in the future, but for now, Greg was willing to go drug-free because while it was sometimes draining, having physical therapy and massages on a regular basis gave him relief, another thing he had been too stubborn to admit. Calling Brandi whenever the pain got too much to bear was more agreeable to him than having real therapy on a regular basis.

Dampness or cold would sometimes ramp up his pain levels, but he just made time for an extra PT session and a muscle relaxer at the end of the day. At home, Lucy would give him another massage as well as that happy ending.

Once Lucy had found out her mother-in-law had had an affair, she started insisting Greg call her, invite her here in the hopes she could explain why she did what she did and why she never left John House. Greg needed to get closure for that. Greg resisted at first, but Lucy's persistence quickly wore him down. Reluctantly, he agreed and called his mother to ask her to come for a visit after they got settled in their house.

Blythe agreed to the visit, over joyed that Greg and Lucy had remarried, but she was apprehensive just the same. She was pretty sure why her son wanted to see her, and wasn't sure her explanations would satisfy him. She tactfully made reservations at a near by Sheraton and rented a car in spite of Lucy's insistence that she stay with them. Since John House died, she had become quite independent without him trying to control her every move, and had been dating quite a bit.

The day they moved out of his apartment, Lucy woke up at five, annoying Greg to no end.

"Damn it, Lucy, why are we getting up so early? There isn't even any coffee here to make it worthwhile waking up now!" Greg grumbled as he tried to keep Lucy in bed with him for a little Morning Mambo.

"Greg, let me go! The movers will be here at seven, and the piano movers will be coming in right behind them. I have to make one more pass through here before we leave to make sure I got everything before your tenant moves in, and I have to stop for groceries on my way home. If you let me go, I'll go get us breakfast at McDonald's while you get dressed." Lucy said sleepily

"We're eating fast food for breakfast?" Greg asked, perking up slightly.

"Yeah, today we're eating fast food. Tomorrow will be different. Now let me go!" Lucy grumbled as she wriggled away and got dressed.

"You're still grouchy!" Greg grumbled right back as Lucy walked out.

"I'm not grouchy!" Lucy yelled back.

Fifteen minutes later, Greg was chowing down on pancakes, sausage & hash browns and strong black coffee. The coffee wasn't nearly as good as Lucy's or his own for that matter, but it woke him up.

The moving men came and they were quite efficient, emptying the apartment in an hour and a half. Lucy had been running in and out of the apartment with things that hadn't been packed, like dirty laundry and the toiletries they had been using. Everything was thrown into large garbage bags to be dealt with later.

The apartment was now empty except for the piano. Lucy gave Greg a quick kiss goodbye and said she'd see him at home. She headed to the grocery store first.

By the time Lucy got to the house, the movers had already had half of Greg's furniture in the basement, with Aunt Loretta making sure they arranged the furniture exactly as it had been in Greg's apartment.

At first Loretta thought her niece was crazy with this "Man Cave" idea, but she soon realized that Lucy knew exactly what she was doing. Lucy had always understood without having to be told that sometimes Greg needed his space in his own surroundings. This was it, and the house was big enough that he could have his privacy.

As soon as Greg saw his piano loaded on the truck, he got on his bike and sped over to his new home, making a quick stop along the way. Lucy wasn't the only one with a surprise planned.

Lucy thought she had heard Greg's bike, but they were all to busy to stop. Greg let the piano movers in, watching them bring the piano in as carefully as he had watched them take it out of his apartment. The piano tuner arrived soon after and Greg was satisfied with his work. He looked around. Lucy had recreated his apartment here except for a few small "differences".

He finally noticed that his TV wasn't here. He went into the bedroom. A brand new set was there as well. What the hell did his wife do? He never taken Lucy's name off of his credit cards as an authorized user and he never looked at the itemized bill from the furniture store or any other bill that Lucy brought home. He trusted Lucy's choices. He didn't realize Lucy bought his new "toys" with her own money as he went back out into the living room and finally took a good look at his surroundings.

In addition to the flat screen on the wall, there was a new Blue Ray player and a WII with several new games waiting to be played, along with a DVD player/recorder in the bedroom. Lucy must have donated his old stuff to Goodwill or something.

Totally disregarding his new "toys" as well as the stair climber (What did she do with the other one? Did she give that away too? It was brand new!), he slowly made his way the stairs and into the kitchen, hollering for Lucy. All three women heard him and burst into laughter.

"Lucy, don't you think you should go see what he wants?" Aunt Loretta asked. She and Liza had been the ones who went furniture shopping with Lucy and knew all about Greg's new "toys".

"You think so, Aunt Loretta? I thought I'd let him holler some more before I went downstairs!" Lucy said as she went downstairs, laughter trailing behind her.

She found Greg in the kitchen. "Greg why are you yelling? I'm just right upstairs, not the next county, you know." Lucy said innocently.

"What is all that downstairs?" Greg asked, getting frustrated with Lucy's innocent act. He remembered it all too well.

Liza and Loretta had crept quietly into the dining room and stood where they could hear everything but couldn't be seen.

"What are you talking about, Greg? Did the movers make a mistake and bring someone else's furniture or didn't they arrange it the way you wanted it? Did they damage anything? Did I damage anything in your record collection when I put it away? Your piano got here in one piece, didn't it? I could probably get Tony and the boys over to help rearrange the furniture if that's what you want. If the movers damaged anything, we'll have to file an insurance claim. You found your guitars in the bedroom closet, didn't you? I wanted you to put them where you wanted." Lucy said, finally taking a breath but keeping the oh, so innocent look on her face.

"I'm talking about that, that thing hanging on the wall! How much did you spend on that TV?" Greg sputtered. Lucy still had the ability to make him feel like he was wrong, keeping him off balance when she felt like it, no matter what the situation was. This was one of those times.

"Oh, the TV!" Lucy said innocently. "Don't you like it, Greg?" Lucy asked, putting a hurt expression on her face. "I thought any man would be happy that his wife bought him that TV and is letting him have a "Man Cave" to boot. Since when do you object to someone else spending money on you? It's my money. I should be able to spend it the way I want to. Is that what's biting your ass now?" Lucy finished with the same hurt expression on her face.

Greg rolled his eyes in defeat as Loretta and Liza clamped their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter.

There was no point on continuing the "discussion". He had already lost this round before it started, never even had a fighting chance. He loved it.

Greg was thankful that Lucy was letting him have the basement to "sulk" in when he was in one of his moods or to have people over to play poker. She still instinctively knew what he needed. That she bought him new toys for his cave shouldn't have surprised him at all.

"Welcome home, Greg." Lucy said softly as she went up on her toes to give him a quick kiss, which Greg turned into a much longer one than Lucy anticipated, but even though they had to come up for air, Greg held her tight.

"Aunt Loretta, do you want some lunch?" Lucy called over her shoulder. "I have some turkey & fresh Italian bread. Loretta and Liza both stepped into the kitchen, neither one looking the least bit guilty or ashamed!

"Lucy, how . . .?" Greg sputtered again.

"Greg, how long have you known her?" Lucy said with a laugh as she got the food out of the refrigerator and she and Liza began making lunch for the four of them. "There was some potential for an argument here. Did you think she was going to miss that?"

The four of them sat down to eat and for Greg it was almost like old times. Only Frank and Lina were missing. He kept trying to steal Lucy's pretzels and she kept slapping his hand away. Greg was, dare he say it to himself again, happy?

Lucy cleaned up after they were done and the women went to put the finishing touches on the upstairs while Greg went to check out his new TV. They all brought the empty moving boxes to the garage. Loretta reminded Greg that he and Lucy were expected at her house at five for dinner.

Greg gave Loretta a hug and said, "Thanks for everything, gorgeous."

"Make sure you take care of my niece, Greg. I know she'll take care of you." Loretta said seriously.

"If she'll let me, I will, Loretta." Greg promised as he closed the car door on Liza's side and watched them drive away.

Greg wandered through the downstairs, admiring all the new furniture in the family room and he stopped in the living room and dining room for a few minutes, flabbergasted at what he saw. He didn't know Lucy had kept her mother's furniture and once again his mind went back to the happy times they had in this house.

Back in the family room, he saw Lucy's piano and was skeptical at what condition it might be in. He ran his fingers lightly over the keys. It was as perfectly tuned as his was. Gina's kids must have been using it all this time. He looked at the fireplace, perfectly clean and ready to be used. Greg remembered the first winter he was here, before he got involved with Lucy and all the time they spent in front of fire talking, especially after Greg had solved a case.

On his way upstairs, he stopped in what had been Frank's office and saw that Lucy had set up a computer in there and his medical journals and books were already on the bookshelves along side Frank's. And there was the stair climber that had been in his apartment! And a small whiteboard!

There was one box on the desk that hadn't been unpacked yet. Curious, Greg opened it. Inside were all the pictures of himself and Lucy he had kept as well as their wedding pictures and DVD. When he had moved into his apartment, he opened the box but never unpacked it. He just stuck it in the back of his closet. Lucy must have taped it closed when she saw what was in it, thinking he might want to put the pictures on display the way he wanted to.

He smiled to himself. It was a good thing she didn't look at all the contents of the box or unpack it for him. He had kept the sex tapes they had made and converted them to DVD himself. Lucy most likely had forgotten about their existence, but if she knew, who could predict what her reaction would be?

All Greg knew was that those tapes and DVD's kept him from totally losing his mind on many nights, especially after he had sent Stacy packing back to Mark, but he had buried them in the bottom of this box after the last time he rejected Lucy's efforts at a reconciliation. He went upstairs.

As he walked into the room, he saw Lucy was just about finished with everything. He noticed that while she still had her old bedroom furniture, she bought a new king-size brass bed. It was freshly made up and waiting to be christened.

Greg saw a box on the floor next to Lucy's old desk. Naturally he opened it. Lucy's sketch books were in it. He started flipping through them. They were surprisingly good. Lucy must have spent a lot of time sitting outside sketching everyone and everything, much like her father had continually taken pictures and home movies of everyone. He was surprised she didn't take up photography, but this must have been relaxing for her.

Then he opened a book that had nothing but sketches of her family, done from memory. There were quite a few of her parents, and there were even sketches of the two of them playing in the pool with Tony and Liza's boys right before they eloped. Greg remembered that day as though it were only yesterday.

The next one was filled with sketches of him, some when he was sleeping, some in his office at the hospital.

Dear God, how lonely she must have been in her self-imposed exile! All because he managed to convince her she was better off without him. He didn't deserve her or her forgiveness, but he had them both.

Lucy came out of the bathroom and saw Greg looking at her sketches.

"Don't look at those." she said in a pained tone as she tried to get the sketchbook out of his hand.

"Lucy, these are really good. I never knew you could draw like this, especially from memory." Greg said softly as he held the book out of her reach.

"It was just something to distract me and keep me from becoming an alcoholic. Now give it back!" Lucy said, completely embarrassed now because she realized that the sketchbook Greg was holding was the one filled with sketches of them in various stages of making love. Greg had noticed marks on the paper that could have only been made by tears.

Greg relented and she grabbed all of the books and put them back in the box.

Greg put his arms around her. "Do you really want to go to dinner at Loretta's, baby?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, I want to christen that bed, but if we don't go, she'll come over here and drag us to her house. The boys will be disappointed if we don't go. I just need to get cleaned up."

"Need some help?" Greg said as he led her to the bathroom and they re-christened the shower.

After they had christened their new bed later in the evening, Lucy fell asleep very quickly. Around midnight, Greg was awakened by her tossing and turning and she kicked him again. She had only done it a few times since she had come home, but tonight seemed to be different for some reason. Lucy seemed frantic.

Suddenly, Lucy sat bolt upright in bed, screaming. She was in the middle of a full fledged nightmare. He hadn't heard a scream like that since the night her parents were killed. Now she was calling her parent's names, reaching out for them, but even in the midst of her nightmare sorrow, no tears would fall as Greg tried to wake her up.

Had she been having nightmares since she left? Greg knew she would never completely get over her parent's death. Hell, he hadn't gotten over it either, but he never thought she would have nightmares, especially this long after the fact. Not Lucy. She was the strong one. Did the fact that his mother was due in town the day after tomorrow have anything to do with this?

"Baby, wake up. It's all right. I'm here now." Greg whispered over and over as he tried to hold her close to him.

Slowly, the glazed look left Lucy's eyes as she realized where she was and she clung to Greg, still crying her parent's names.

"Lucy, how long have you been having nightmares about your parents?" Greg asked when she finally calmed down.

"I never had nightmares." Lucy sniffed. Maybe it's because we moved back in here."

"Baby, you've been alone for ten years. You could have had that nightmare every time you managed to get some sleep and not known it. I think that's why you developed insomnia and you drank because you were trying to block the memories. Maybe you should talk to someone about it. You never cried when they died. All you said was "Mommy? Daddy?" when they flat lined, then you screamed and fainted. That was it. You went numb. I didn't think you needed me or anyone else. I pushed you away when we needed each other the most."

Lucy got out of bed and sat on the couch.

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black! The great Gregory House, who had to start hallucinating my brother's dead girlfriend and screwing his boss before he would get help himself and he still fought tooth and nail when he was hospitalized! You have the balls to tell me I need to talk to a therapist because I never mourned my parents? Since when do you believe in therapy? You did it because you didn't have a choice! Do you think a day goes by that I don't mourn them and what we lost, what could have been? I've been flying up here for ten years to visit their graves and build snowmen. Who do you think is paying for the maintenance and keeping fresh flowers on their graves? Jim? Why should I talk to anyone about it now? No amount of talking in the world can change the fact that my parents were killed in a senseless accident and I failed twice at having a baby! Worst of all, I failed you!" Lucy snapped at Greg.

As her eyes filled with tears she still refused to shed, Lucy blindly looked around the room for something to wear, and grabbed Greg's t-shirt. She threw it on and ran downstairs, still unable to face the ghosts that represented her parent's death, two miscarriages and their failed first marriage.

Greg groaned and got out of bed as quickly as he could, putting on a pair of boxers, trying to listen for the sound of the garage door opening, but he didn't think Lucy would take off half naked. He found her standing in the middle of the family room, arms wrapped around herself, shoulders heaving with the effort she was making not to cry. She was afraid once the damn broke, she would never be able to stop.

"Lucy, how did you fail me?" Greg said as he tried to put his arms around her stiff body.

Lucy pulled away and turned to face her husband.

"I promised my father I would take care of you that first summer and it was in our vows. I should have fought harder for you instead of leaving you. What happened to your leg is my fault. I would have never let that surgery happen. And I failed twice trying to have your baby!" The effort to speak without crying was starting to have an effect on Lucy. She started having trouble breathing.

Greg put his fingers on her neck to check her pulse. It was racing. She was working herself into a panic attack and he didn't have anything to give her. His heart broke as he felt her pain. She had tried to be so brave for both of them and he hadn't been able to see it until it was too late, but now he had to calm her down.

"Lucy, try to take a deep breath. You're giving yourself a panic attack and I don't have anything to give you. I'll have to take you to the hospital or call your brother unless you can relax on your own." Greg said as he gently rubbed her back to try and calm her down. Lucy was shaking like a leaf.

"Baby, you didn't fail me. I give you my word on that for whatever it's worth. I never blamed you for anything. I made that promise to your father too, so I broke my vows as well. No one could have tried harder to make a marriage work than you did. I was as shattered as you and your brother were when your parents died, but I should have been there for you like you tried to do for me. Nothing is your fault, the miscarriages, even my leg."

Lucy collapsed in a heap on the couch.

Greg sat next to her and pulled her close to him as the dam finally broke and Lucy started crying like she had she had never cried in her life. Tears slowly slid down Greg's face as well when he felt Lucy's hot tears on his bare chest as they both finally and completely mourned Frank, Lina, their lost babies and their broken first marriage. Time and people, lost forever, not to be regained again. They spent the rest of the night on the couch.

At daybreak, Lucy woke up. Her eyes felt like they were practically swollen shut from all the crying she did. Then she looked at Greg. Even in sleep, his face was scrunched in pain and Lucy couldn't even begin to imagine how much he was suffering after the night on the couch. She slipped away from him and went upstairs to get him some Tiger Balm Patches for his leg. She grabbed the bottle of massage oil the physical therapist had recommended and a towel as well.

When she came back downstairs, Greg was awake and in pain as she expected, using both hands to massage his leg with a vengeance. He tried to stand, but couldn't put any weight on his right leg.

Lucy hurried over. "Let me, _caro._ Just sit back and try to relax." she said softly as she put lotion on her hands and began massaging Greg's leg like the therapist had shown her.

He started groaning with relief as Lucy's gentle hands started to get the kinks out of his leg and ease the spasms. When she finished, she wiped her hands on the towel and gently patted his leg dry so she could put the patches on his thigh, then she massaged his left leg as well.

"Thanks, baby." he whispered with relief as Lucy finished massaging his left leg. He had been in such pain he was ready to go out and try to score some Vicodin. Now the pain was becoming tolerable. On a scale of one to ten, he was about a six now, maybe a seven and dropping.

"I'm sorry, Greg." Lucy said softly.

"For what, Lucy?" Greg said as he pulled her next to him on the couch. Her warmth next to his leg felt good.

"It's my fault you're in so much pain this morning. We slept down here because of me." Lucy said.

"Now is as good a time as any to give her the surprise." Greg thought to himself as he tightened his grip on her.

They just sat there quietly for a few minutes with Greg gently stroking Lucy's back to relax her. That small gesture made him feel useful in some way.

"Lucy, how about we go for a ride on the bike after breakfast?" Greg asked as the Tiger Balm patches began to numb some more of the pain in his leg.

Lucy had been dying to ride the bike since she saw it.

"But Greg, I don't have a helmet! I can't I ride without one, can I?"

Lucy looked like a little girl who had just been told that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Great Pumpkin weren't real after all.

"Go in the laundry room, Lucy. I stopped on the way over here yesterday and got you one. I'm surprised you didn't see it when you were washing clothes." Greg said with one of his crooked grins.

Lucy jumped off the couch and ran to into the laundry room and found the bags with the helmet and a leather jacket he had bought her. Greg followed her a little more slowly, trying not to but leaning heavily on his cane. Not all of the kinks had worked themselves out of his leg yet.

Lucy looked like a little girl on Christmas morning when she opened the bags. Greg had seen a gorgeous soft leather bomber jacket and couldn't resist buying it for her. It was purple, her favorite color. Lucy quickly slipped it on. Greg had remembered her size!

He braced himself on his good leg, cane and the wall as she ran over to him and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around him and smothered him with kisses. Of course, he took the opportunity to play a little bit of grab ass while he could! Now his leg wasn't hurting so much.

"Thank you, Greg!" she squealed. "Let's go now!"

"Calm down, monkey!" he said laughingly. "First you need to feed me, and as adorable as you look in just my t-shirt, I think you should probably at least put a pair of jeans on! Then I need to give you some pointers on riding and we're off."

Lucy paid rapt attention to Greg as he gave her pointers over breakfast and while they were getting dressed. As they got on the bike, he reminded her that if she got scared, all she had to do was pat his chest and he would pull over.

They took off, with Greg driving slowly at first, letting Lucy get used to the feel of the bike. As he gradually picked up speed, he could feel her relax, and instead of the initial death grip she had on him, her hold on him had quickly loosened and she was holding him loosely around the waist. They didn't come home until late, only stopping at an out of the way diner halfway between Princeton and Atlantic City for lunch.

Lucy was happily exhausted when they got home, but not too exhausted to thank Greg for her presents and the day on the bike


	14. Chapter 14

_**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**__** - The Truth Is Revealed**_

The next day, Blythe came into town and Greg braced himself to do battle with his mother.

Lucy led her to the family room where Greg was waiting. His stomach had started churning the minute he heard the door bell.

Blythe hugged her son.

"You're looking well, Greg. Now what was it that was so important that I had to come to you, not that I mind. I don't see enough of you. I never have since you went away to college." she said carefully.

For the first time in his life, she couldn't get a read on her son and she was nervous.

"Mom, why did you stay married to John House?"

"Greg, he was your father. It's time to let go of all this anger." Blythe said carefully, trying to keep up the pretense.

"Mom, stop it, please! I know John House was not my biological father. I ran the DNA test myself on a skin sample I took when Wilson dragged me to his funeral and I can count. Dad was overseas when I was conceived. Reverend What's His Name is my biological father, isn't he?"

Blythe nearly laughed until she saw the look on her son's face. Game over. Time to tell the truth, no matter what the consequences were.

"Greg, the Reverend Bell wasn't your father . . ." Blythe's voice trailed off as Greg exploded. She had had an affair with the minister, but how could her son have guessed? But he wasn't Greg's father.

"You mean you had more than one affair? Who is my father? Do you even know?"

"Greg, really! Reverend Bell is an old family friend, nothing more. Your father indeed!" Blythe exclaimed huffily, lying about her relationship. She never thought she would have a conversation like this with Greg.

Greg could feel his blood pressure rising and Lucy quickly went to stand by him to try and calm him down. She was as shocked as Greg, maybe more so. While she really didn't blame Blythe for having an affair, she never pegged her for the type to jump from bed to bed!

Blythe had been nervous about this confrontation, having correctly guessed why Greg wanted to talk to her, but the fact that her son had pegged her for having at least one affair didn't sit right with her, although she had no right to be angry. She had kept the truth from her son for years.

"Well, who is my father then?" Greg demanded.

Just the fact that Lucy was holding his arm and rubbing it was a comfort, but he was still close to boiling.

"Greg, what difference does it make now? He's dead too." Blythe said.

"What difference does it make?" Greg was astounded. "Did the Colonel know I wasn't his son?"

Blythe looked at the floor.

"Come on mom, did he know or not? I need to know! This is one of the things that I nearly let destroy me!" Greg yelled.

"He knew." Blythe answered.

"Well, who was my father then? Do I have any brothers or sisters?" Greg asked, trying to control himself.

"Your father was Nate Anthony." Blythe said quietly.

Nate Anthony had been single and the most handsome man on base at the time. Blythe wasn't the only one he had an affair with, but theirs was the only one that resulted in a child.

"You mean the flight instructor? He fucked every woman on base! Is that why the Colonel dragged us everywhere he could, to keep you away from him? Why did you let him torture me like he did? Didn't you love me enough? Was I just an obligation to you because abortion wasn't an option back then?" Greg's voice cracked

"Gregory House, watch your language! I'm still your mother! How can you say that! Of course I love you! You were never an obligation! Abortion never crossed my mind!"

Blythe was shocked that her son would use such language with her, but she didn't know about the hell he had been through either

"Then why didn't you leave him? Why didn't you protect me? You knew what he was doing to me! The ice baths, verbal and physical abuse. He only stopped the physical abuse when I was fifteen because by then he knew I could and would kick his ass and he couldn't deal with that! He kept up the verbal abuse and you never stopped him! Why didn't you go to Aunt Sarah for help?" Greg said quietly as he gave his mother a Reader's Digest condensed version of everything that had happened since Lucy left, including his breakdown and subsequent stay in a mental hospital.

Blythe was shocked at hearing the news her son had been institutionalized, but she went on the defensive anyway.

"Greg, don't blame everything on me! I'm not proud of what I did, but I think Lucy could take some of the responsibility for some what's happened to you since she was the one who divorced you!"

Lucy visibly stiffened and her eyes narrowed and darkened with anger. She did not need her mother-in-law to make her feel any guiltier about Greg than she already did, but Greg had issues when she met him.

"Mom, don't you dare say one word against my wife! I won't have it. Do you understand that? You don't know what I put her through. I didn't give her much choice but to leave me! Moving to Princeton was probably the best thing I ever did other than marry Lucy. Her family showed me what real love is. I don't understand why they stayed close to me all these years and I still haven't quite grasped the fact that Lucy came back to me, much less married me again, but I know I'm lucky!" Greg was starting to yell now.

Lucy hadn't said one word since Blythe arrived, just taking it all in, but now it was time to step in before it got out of control. She mentally took a deep breath to get herself under control.

"Blythe, I've already taken the blame for some of what's happened to Greg, but these issues have been festering in him long before I met him. I knew it I was making a mistake when I divorced him and I did try to reconcile with him several times, but he always turned me down, saying I was better off without him. He claims that I'm not to blame for what happened to him, but I will feel responsible for it for the rest of my life. I only got little bits of information about what was really going on all the time I was in Florida. If I had known everything, I would have come home a lot sooner no matter what he said to me. What I don't understand is your behavior. It sounds like the Colonel was a control freak among other things and that may have driven you to have an affair or two. Why didn't you just leave him if he knew Greg wasn't his biological son? Greg has a very warped view of life because of what happened to him growing up. I don't know how I can change that except to love him and help him try and deal with it. Why did you let your husband abuse Greg? Children are a precious gift, to be cherished and nurtured, whether they're ours or not. Why didn't you protect your son? I don't understand that." Lucy spoke to her mother-in-law in a level tone, looking Blythe straight in the eye and making her very uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Blythe was very ashamed of herself. Lucy's outward calmness rattled her. All these years, she thought Greg hadn't been affected all that much by what her husband said and did to him, preferring to turn partial blind eye to the situation, thinking her son was strong. She now saw the damage she had she had inadvertently done to Greg by not protecting him and staying with John House. She should have gone to Sarah for help.

"Greg, Lucy, you have to understand the times. I had a reputation as being wild when I met John. My family was grateful that someone who appeared as solid and stable as he did paid no attention to my reputation, hoping his influence would settle me down. No one, including myself, had an inkling of John's true personality, and I doubt that anyone would have believed me anyway. I found out what he was like soon after we married. He ran the house like he ran the men in his command and pretty much tried to control my every move. By the time Greg was four, Nate realized he was his son. He wanted me to leave John so he could marry me and raise Greg as his own. I asked John for a divorce and he refused. We couldn't have just run away and lived together, either. Nate's military career would have been ruined and he wouldn't have been able to find decent civilian employment to support us. In those days, a dishonorable discharge was a catastrophe that followed you into civilian life and haunted you forever. John had known from the beginning you weren't his but never let on until then because he desperately wanted a child; I didn't know he was sterile until I asked for a divorce. He threatened to expose my affair and prove me an unfit mother and a whore so he could get sole custody of you and send you to a military school. He would have never let me see you again. Would that have been any better for you? You would have hated me even more than you do now. I know John would have seen to that. You also never would have become a doctor. He would have pushed you straight into the Corp. I never finished college. I had no job skills and couldn't give you even the barest of necessities. John wouldn't have given me a penny even if I had managed to win custody of you. My parents wouldn't have helped me, especially if they knew I had an affair. In those days, unless you had the means to take care of yourself or were positive you would come up smelling like a rose in divorce proceedings, you were supposed to make the best of a bad marriage, looking the other way if your husband cheated or was treating you badly. I didn't feel as if I had any choices. Eventually John and I fell into an uneasy truce with our marriage, each of us pretty much doing our own thing. I know they're just words, but I am sorry I didn't do a better job of protecting you."

Blythe finished her confession and looked at her son and daughter-in-law. She couldn't read anything at all on their faces.

"Greg, Lucy, I don't deserve it, but can you find it in your hearts to forgive me?" Blythe begged. Blythe rarely saw her son as it was and she was desperate to maintain what little contact they had. She would do anything not to lose Greg or the grandchild Lucy might give her.

The room was uncomfortably silent. Lucy spoke first.

"Blythe, I don't know if Greg can forgive you, but at some point, I think I will. If we have a baby, you'll be its only grandparent. I had a wonderful relationship with my grandparents. Part of who I am is because of them. I won't deprive my child of that opportunity or you the joy of being with your grandchild just to be spiteful. I wasn't raised that way."

Greg stared at his wife in total amazement. Lucy's capacity for love and understanding now extended to his mother. After Blythe's confession and trying to blame Lucy for all his woes, he thought his wife would jump all over his mother and ask her to leave her home and not come back! Instead, she made it clear that Blythe was still family and always welcome in their home.

Greg and his mother eventually reconciled their differences, but some of the warmth and closeness that had existed between mother and son evaporated and would never return, even after the twins were born, but at least they weren't deprived of their only grandparent. Greg couldn't do that to his mother either, regardless of the past.

His children also had an aunt, uncle and five cousins because of his mother's infidelity. Although he had never changed his philandering ways, Nate Anthony had married and fathered another son and a daughter five and six years younger than Greg.

Daniel Anthony was a career Marine, like his father, which made Greg roll his eyes in disgust. Maybe if John House had treated him differently, been able to pretend he was his biological son regardless of Greg's behavior, he wouldn't feel the way he did about people who made the service their career, but he couldn't change that now.

He had a certain amount of respect for people who had the calling to serve and protect their country, but as far as making a career out of it, well, that was another story. Greg vowed never to force a career choice on their child.

Daniel was stationed overseas with his family and now when he came home on leave, instead of going to his sister's home in Seattle, they all came to Princeton with their families to get acquainted with the half-brother they had heard about and idolized all their lives but had never met.

Blythe had never contacted Nate after John refused her request for a divorce, but he had kept track of the both of them all these years. He loved his other children and grandchildren, but his affair with Blythe was different and so was their son. Greg's intelligence and medical expertise always blew him away. He just couldn't grasp the fact that he had produced such a child. He knew what John House was doing to Greg, but a showdown would have been futile for all concerned. Not wanting to make things worse than they already were, he took the coward's way out and did nothing.

Instead of making his children jealous of a brother they had never met, they were proud of him. They followed his career as well.

Daniel and his sister never tried to contact Greg because it had been their father's wish not to upset the applecart that was Blythe's marriage to John House.

Now that John, Nate and his wife were dead and everything was out in the open, they didn't see any reason not to get to know their big brother since they knew he was aware of their existence now.

The whole situation pissed Greg off, even when they all finally met. After their first meeting, Greg wanted to tell them not to come back to Princeton again, but Lucy managed to convince him otherwise. He would never quite let go of all the anger he felt, and Lucy knew it, but he could cover it up very well.

Greg was always angry and depressed after these get togethers. Even though his biological father cheated on his wife throughout their entire marriage, she chose to look the other way because Nate was discreet and never publicly embarrassed his family. Greg's brother and sister grew up in a home filled with love; he had only come to know that kind of love when he met Lucy and he had almost lost it for good until Lucy came back to him.

After these visits, she always worked her magic on him. Sometimes it was just as simple as giving him a kiss. Sometimes she just put her arms around him and they would sit that way on the couch for hours, or until Greg's stomach announced it wanted to be fed, or when they were small, the twins would climb into his lap and smother him with kisses.

When Greg allowed himself to think about the situation, he became more determined than ever to be the loving father he had never had to his children.

After a long meeting with Wilson, Chase, Foreman and Taub quickly came to the conclusion that House working so closely with his wife was a good thing and became used to them fighting like cats and dogs and Lucy throwing things at him or getting up in his face to prove her point. She even got him into work on time, although he often went back to sleep if they didn't have a case.

His appearance improved as well. Not only was he looking healthier than either Foreman or Chase could remember, he was paying more attention to his grooming!

Oh, he was still wearing the scruff, but he kept it trimmed close and kept his hair in shape. Lucy wasn't allowed to iron his shirts, but he didn't look like he had been sleeping in his clothes.

Foreman was the one who was most concerned that them working together would prove to be as big a mistake as when House and Cuddy were involved, especially since Lucy would be part of the team, but Wilson assured them otherwise.

Where Wilson had a more cautious approach to medicine, Lucy had the same crazy medical instincts as Greg did, but unlike Greg, she would concede that there was always a less dangerous but still crazy way to get to a diagnosis.

Their sparring was a part of their passion for each other and wouldn't be detrimental to their work since the means justified the end for both of them. Their goal was the same - diagnose, treat and cure if possible. There were times when they seemed to be one person.

This was one case where togetherness was a plus for House. Lucy challenged Greg's theories at every turn and had a stabilizing effect on him as well. She held him accountable for his actions. Wilson had told them many times they deserved each other, that they were just plain nuts. He was right and glad of it. The two people he loved the most were together like they should be. He was only sorry that it took a near tragedy to get them back together again.

The second hurdle came when a couple of the he had been with during his bender had somehow managed to track him down at Saint Sebastian's and decided to pay him a visit to see if he was up for more partying.

Or they tried to. They had no clue Greg was married now and that they were walking into a hornet's nest named Lucy Mazzelli-House.

When the girls strolled into the office that Greg and Lucy shared, the team wasn't shocked and they started placing bets with each other to see if House could get rid of them before Lucy showed up or if he didn't, how long it would take Lucy to physically throw them out herself.

Greg kept trying to get their attention to come and give him a hand, but they ignored him. Before he could go into the conference room to get them to help him out, Lucy walked in. All of a sudden, the three of them paid rapt attention to what was going on in their boss's office.

Lucy had just admitted a new patient and was looking at the file as she walked in the office. Saint Sebastian's had recently converted to an electronic system, but Greg still wanted to hold the patient's chart in his hand, so Lucy always printed hard copies for them so they could start their DDX.

Lucy's nose was assaulted by the scents of two very strong perfumes. She looked up from the files she was carrying, startled at what she saw standing much too close to her husband, but she correctly guessed they must have been around when Greg was on his bender.

They were pretty girls, possibly cocktail waitresses Greg might have come across in Atlantic City or in one of the nicer bars in Princeton, but Lucy was thinking that their "tips" probably weren't all in cash. Their clothes were stylish and well-made, but a little too tight, stilettos a little too high and the redhead used a little too much makeup

Lucy had inherited her mother's sense of style and class, and even wearing a pair of black slacks and a simple ivory cotton sweater and her mother's pearls under her lab jacket, minimal makeup, and curly hair carelessly pulled back with a gold barrette, she projected a sexy innocence, maybe a little like Kim Novak in "Picnic". All innocence outside, barely suppressing the hot sexiness inside waiting to be let out.

These girls? Well, it was hard to say exactly what they were trying for, but it was safe to say it wasn't class, let alone innocence!

"_Che cosa sono quelle puttane facendo qui? _(What are those hookers doing here?) Lucy asked Greg in such a calm tone, he immediately became nervous.

The girls were confused, but it was all Chase, Foreman and Taub could do to keep straight faces. They didn't speak Italian, but they knew what "puttana" meant! Greg's "friends" weren't smart enough to catch that.

Before Greg had a chance to try and get out of the hole he had dug for himself while on his bender, the bottle redhead, whose name was Britnee, spoke to him as if Lucy wasn't even in the office.

"House, we sure had a hard time tracking you down, but you showed us such a good time the last time we all partied together, we just stopped by to see if you're up for it again. You sure know how to live it up! You should come too, honey. You look like you could use it." Britnee looked pointedly at Lucy.

Greg just shook his head as he slowly backed away from all three women, fearing for his safety. After tossing the files on her desk, Lucy had placed herself between Greg and his "friends" and her hands had curled into fists as she placed them on her hips. Greg knew she was ready to snap.

"I didn't think girls like you got up before the crack of noon. If you're here to be tested for STD's, there's a free clinic on the first floor. Otherwise, get the hell out of this office and hospital right now before I call Security!" Lucy snarled, slowly backing Britnee and her friend toward the door.

"Say, honey, who do you think you are anyway?" Britnee asked, offended at Lucy suggesting she had an STD or worked at an occupation that was less than legal, but not yet realizing she was actually in physical danger.

"House, who is this little bitch?"

Greg just looked helplessly up at the ceiling. Someone might have to call Security now - to pull his wife off of Britnee!

"This little bitch is his _**WIFE**_, honey, and I don't plan on sharing him with the likes of you two or anyone else!" Lucy snapped.

Lucy's voice was practically a growl and Foreman, Chase and Taub were almost doubled over with the effort not to laugh.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Britnee said, only now realizing Greg was wearing a wedding ring. Suddenly, tracking House down didn't seem to be that great an idea.

"House, you didn't tell us you were married!"

Greg finally found his voice. "Um, yeah, about that. I married her about two months ago. I think you should go and not come back."

All the while, Lucy stood her ground, keeping herself between Greg and these two.

The other girl, a brunette, had been trying to edge her way closer to Greg only to have Lucy block her every attempt. She finally got the courage to speak and Lucy placed her accent as something Eastern European or Russian.

"But House, how am I going to get green card now if you already have wife? You promised. More than one wife is illegal, no?"

"Dominika, shut up!" Britnee hissed at her.

Lucy turned to stare at Greg. She still had her poker face on, but Greg was scared. He hadn't been this scared when he was hallucinating Amber!

The only way Greg knew his wife was pissed was because her eyes had darkened with anger and her body language, which told him there was a very real possibility someone could get hurt, most likely him!

Lucy turned back to the girls.

"If you aren't out of this office and hospital in the next five minutes, I'll throw you out myself instead of calling Security." Lucy growled.

Lucy had not raised her voice at all, but there was an unmistakable menacing tone to her words. Then she turned to Dominika.

"Yes, more than one wife is illegal and so are green card marriages. If you seriously want to stay in this country, I suggest you go through legal channels or con someone else and get the hell away from my husband! He's not available for your little schemes."

Finally, both girls realized that they were really in danger of being physically hurt and hightailed it out of the office fast because now they actually were afraid of Lucy. Only then did the three in the adjacent conference room break into uncontrollable laughter that neither Lucy or Greg paid any attention to.

Lucy whirled to face Greg, who had come up behind her to apologize to her. Before he could say one word in his defense, if there was any defense, Lucy pulled back and punched his arm hard. More laughter from the conference room as Greg howled in pain.

"Lucy, what's wrong with you? I was trying to get rid of them!" Greg said as he rubbed his arm where Lucy had punched him.

"It didn't look like you were trying too hard, you no good son of a bitch! I married "her" about two months ago? I have a name, you jackass! It's Lucy, remember? What the hell else did you do on that bender? A green card wedding? Do you want to go to jail? Who was she a substitute for? Cuddy or me? Maybe Stacy? What else do I need to be watching out for, what else did you do the whole time I was in Florida that I don't know about yet? First it was that bleached blond bimbo coming to your apartment, now your "friends" are coming to work to see you? Are they going to come knocking at my front door next?" Lucy snarled as she grabbed her purse and keys and took off.

Greg didn't try to stop her. She was moving too fast for him, and even if he was able to catch her, she would probably punch him again. Better to let her go until she cooled off. He hoped both girls were off hospital grounds already!

Since becoming Dean of Medicine at PPTH, Jim Wilson had turned his oncology practice over to someone else, but he still kept his hand in, giving consults from time to time. He had a consult at Saint Sebastian's that afternoon and was supposed to have dinner with his sister and brother-in-law, but as he was pulling into the hospital parking lot, Lucy nearly ran into him on her way out. Jim didn't try to follow her. He knew it was a waste of time because he'd never be able to catch up to her. He did the consult as quickly as he could and hurried to his brother-in-law's offices.

As he walked into Greg's office, Jim saw him trying to make phone calls on everyone's cell phone.

"House, where did Lucy go in such a hurry? She practically ran into me in the parking lot!" Jim exclaimed

Taub gleefully filled him in.

Wilson looked at his brother-in-law and shook his head.

"Where is she, House? Where did she take off to?"

"How the hell would I know, Wilson? I've tried calling her and she keeps hanging up on me! I'm trying to call her on these useless moron's phones and she hangs up when she hears my voice. She already punched me. When she cools off, she'll come back!" Greg replied in as calm a voice as he could manage.

He would never show it or admit it, but he always worried about Lucy when she did this. He remembered the first time she had taken off on him before they got married and how much of an effort it took to be calm.

Of course that time, her brother had been the cause of her disappearing for the day, but he worried anyway.

Wilson pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Lucy.

When Lucy heard her phone ring again, she groaned, but answered it anyway.

"Lucy, it's Jim. Don't hang up, please." she heard her brother say.

"Unless there's a medical emergency requiring my presence, I don't want to talk to you either!" Lucy snapped at her brother as she proceeded to hang up on him. At a red light, she scrolled through her contacts and called Liza.

"Liza, are you busy? Is it all right if I stop over now?" Lucy asked her cousin's wife quickly.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Liza was alarmed.

"I'll tell you when I get there." Lucy said. She hung up and turned off her phone.

In the mean time, Greg had an idea and called Liza.

"Greg, what the hell is going on?" Liza demanded. "Lucy's on her way over here now!" She could hear a very loud sigh of relief at the other end of the line.

"Liza, just let her vent and I'll get there as soon as I can!"

No more than five minutes later, Lucy was ringing the doorbell. Liza let her in.

"Lucy, what happened?" Liza was concerned because of Greg's call.

"He called here, didn't he?" Lucy said.

"Yes, he did, not more than five minutes ago, whining because you punched him in the arm. Lucy what happened?"

Liza didn't want to see a repeat of what happened when Uncle Frank and Aunt Lina died. Greg and Lucy would not split up again if she had anything to say about it!

"Big baby!" Lucy growled. He's lucky that's all I punched!"

As Lucy told the story to Liza, her anger slowly turned to amusement. By the time she got to Dominika and the green card wedding Greg had promised her, she could barely keep a straight face.

"Lucy, I think I would have handled the situation the same way you did!" Liza said. She was laughing so hard, tears were pouring down her face. "I just need to know one thing!"

"What's that, Liza?" Lucy was laughing as hard as Liza by now.

"What stopped you from actually hitting either girl?" Liza said.

"They got out of the office before I had a chance to do anything but scare the bejesus out of them, that's why I punched Greg instead! Now the big baby will moan and groan about the bruise I gave him!"

Both of them were laughing almost uncontrollably.

Both Greg and Jim showed up after Greg started the DDX for the patient Lucy had admitted and the team went off to do their tests. The boys came home from school and were all excited, even though they were all teenagers now. They didn't expect Lucy, Greg or Jim to be there. Dinner was going to be fun tonight!

Greg and Lucy argued all through dinner, much to the boys delight, with Tony and Jim trying and failing to keep the peace. The boys were used to Lucy swearing at Greg. The only one who really didn't remember much was little Frankie because he hadn't been much more than a baby when Lucy left Princeton, but he had gotten used to her cussing with all the trips they had taken to Florida to visit her and he was happy Lucy and Greg were together again. His brothers had explained why they had split up.


	15. Chapter 15

_**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**__** - Relapse**_

Greg's second relapse happened right before Thanksgiving of that year, but it would be the last one he would have for the rest of his life. Only Lucy and his team would know what happened and she made sure it was handled with discretion. Not even Jim knew.

How did Lucy manage that? She threatened to fire Greg's team if they so much as thought about telling anyone at all.

At Saint Sebastian's, Greg had the freedom to treat his patients as he saw fit without anyone breathing down his neck. He could be himself, snarky and arrogant. Without him realizing it, Lucy was able to keep Greg from doing the really insane things he wanted to by suggesting an alternative that while nearly as insane as what he wanted, was slightly safer for the patient and just as appealing to Greg's sense of recklessness. Cuddy wouldn't have even approved of Lucy's alternatives!

In addition to getting Greg to see more patients and pretty much managing the department for him, Lucy went with Foreman, Chase or Taub when they searched patient's homes, but they quickly learned to drive themselves. Lucy still drove like a NASCAR driver, and she scared the crap out of them every time she got behind the wheel!

Chase, Taub and Foreman were happy again. This was the House they wanted to work for and learn from, and they quickly learned to appreciate Lucy's medical expertise and the way she handled House, especially Foreman. He was impressed that Lucy knew by looking at old scans what was causing most of House's leg pain. Better yet, she only needed a simple MRI to confirm her theory.

Lucy's diagnostic skills were as good, maybe even better than House's. None of them had even given any thought to looking at House's medical records to see if they could help him themselves. It was easier to think he was an ass (which he still was), write him a prescription for Vicodin and go on from there. They did him a grave injustice.

Greg was back on top of his game instantly. Within two months of him being there, Saint Sebastian's was the place to go on the East Coast if no one else could help you.

Requests came in from all over the world. Many cases were were handled via video conference call, but the more complicated ones were brought to the hospital.

Inexplicably, Greg's overnight success at Saint Sebastian's began to scare him, coming so close on the heels of his break up with Cuddy and his booze/drug bender. He really did think that his relationship with Cuddy had taken the edge off his medical skills regardless of how well he was doing now, and those feelings of not deserving any happiness were still in the back of his mind. He thought the rug would be pulled out from under him again, his new found success only temporary, too much too soon. And he thought Lucy was hiding something from him, adding to his impending sense of doom.

What if this whole thing, including his marriage, blew up in his face? What would happen to him if he lost Lucy again? He didn't think she would leave him again, but he was worried about her health now.

He had always known her blood pressure was on the low side, but it had never gotten in her way. She was still like an Energizer Bunny, but something was off. But what could it be? To all outward appearances, there wasn't anything wrong.

Financially, he still had no worries even after blowing all that money on his bender. Lucy knew exactly how much he blew because he had fallen back into the habit of letting Lucy straighten out his finances and keep everything organized. She never said a word. His investments were still conservative and in spite of the down turn in the economy the past few years, he really didn't have to work another day in his life, but that wasn't the point.

Greg wouldn't be able to handle losing Lucy, not again. He would probably go on another bender, only this one might be the one that would actually kill him. That was the point. He didn't want to die. Lucy was his rock, providing him the unconditional love, trust and support he needed.

As arrogant and egotistical as he was, Greg actually needed emotional support, although he would never admit it, and Lucy never threw that in his face. She understood his needs. Except for some doubts she had in the beginning of their relationship about her being too inexperienced for him, Lucy was the most poised, confident and supportive person he knew, and it was all natural.

In spite of Lucy's reassurances that she would always be there for him, that she wasn't going anywhere, and there wasn't anything wrong with her, Greg started spiking his coffee with scotch or bourbon. Not enough to make him drunk, but enough to relax him and not affect his work. It muted the siren call of Vicodin for the time being.

Lucy was on her way back to the office with what she hoped was good news. Dr. Burke had just told her she was pregnant, about four and a half months, give or take, and past the point where she had lost her other babies. Lucy had suspected as much even though she was still having a period and the two pregnancy tests she ran on herself came up negative. She had gained a couple of pounds, but not enough for even Greg to notice and she didn't have morning sickness.

Greg had been ragging her since August about being pregnant like he had the first time, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise to him. All Dr. Burke did was confirm it.

She barely had a bump, and Burke told her she probably wouldn't show too much because her stomach muscles were so strong, they would hold the baby in quite nicely, but he wanted to see her twice a month because of those muscles to make sure everything was progressing as it should. Ultrasounds had always been a part of Lucy's exams to cover all bases anyway.

Burke was cautiously optimistic that she would successfully give birth this time. He didn't place any restrictions on Lucy, only that she get enough rest and eat right. His only concern was her low blood pressure and though it went against the grain of what pregnant women should avoid, he didn't tell Lucy to give up caffeine, just cut back a bit. Lucy's one concern was that she had been having an occasional drink or two with dinner, but Burke wasn't worried.

Lucy quietly came into the conference room, hoping to surprise Greg with the news and saw him pour bourbon into his coffee instead. She was stunned. Lucy had always known he kept a bottle in his desk, but he only drank when a case was successfully completed, and that was only after the work day was over. They had just finished a case, but the work day wasn't over. It was lunchtime.

Lucy quietly backed her way out of the conference room and went into their office from the hall. She was so rattled that instead of telling him her news, she just leaned over to give him a lingering kiss on the mouth.

"Not that I mind, but what was that for?" Greg said as he smiled and took her hands in his and pulled her on his lap.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just for shits and giggles." Lucy replied with her own smile as she kissed the tip of his nose and hugged him.

"Well, if that's the case, wanna fool around?" Greg leered at her as he gave her ass a squeeze, getting the expected squeal out of Lucy and loving it.

"Nope, I'm hungry! Let's get some lunch!" Lucy said as she worked herself free of Greg's embrace.

What had she missed? There had been nothing in the way he acted that would make Lucy suspect anything, and she knew what to look for. He was as much a pain in the ass as he ever was. Every bit of her medical training and experience treating addicts screamed at her to confront Greg now. She didn't mind him having a drink now and then, but sneaking booze like this for no apparent reason could be the start of a another huge problem.

Greg had started a tradition of sorts every time they successfully treated a patient. He either took everyone to a nice restaurant or Lucy cooked dinner for them. Greg loved it when Lucy cooked because he never grew tired of showing off how lucky he was that he had a beautiful, smart wife who could do pretty much anything. But then again, he enjoyed taking her out and showing her off as well. It was a win-win as far as he was concerned.

Jim was usually invited to these dinners because Greg knew he would go to work the next day and tell Cuddy all about how well things were going for him. Lucy didn't like that part of it, but she didn't see a lot of her brother since he became Dean, and even though the relationship was a bit strained because of what she saw as him letting Greg down, she got to play catch up with him. He was still her brother and she loved him.

A good time was always had by all. Tonight, they were going out to dinner since Lucy had announced that she was cooking Thanksgiving dinner the following week and had invited the team as well as her brother and a few other family members.

Lucy decided to skip the dinner tonight, going grocery shopping instead to pick up what she needed for Thanksgiving dinner. Except for the dining room, Lucy had almost all of the Christmas decorations up.

Following her father's tradition, she would decorate the trees the night before Thanksgiving, and the outside lights would be set on a timer to light up starting at six on Thanksgiving night.

By nine, Lucy was in bed reading a book when the phone rang. It was Foreman.

"Lucy, we're bringing House home now." She almost panicked.

"What happened?" she asked Foreman, her voice not betraying her fears, but imagining almost everything under the sun.

"I think he slipped again, Lucy. We all split up after dinner, and I thought he was going home to you. He called us from Fiorello's, too messed up to drive.

"Son of a bitch!" Lucy swore. "Get him back here quick before anyone sees him, his car too! We have to keep him out of trouble! My brother's not around is he?"

"No, he went home and there's no one here that recognizes us. See you in ten, Lucy." Foreman said and hung up.

Lucy was furious. First the drinking at the hospital and now this? Why hadn't she gone to dinner with them?

She heard the garage door open, and ran to the kitchen to open the door. Foreman drove Greg's car in the garage and Chase and Taub pulled in the driveway behind him. Greg had passed out in the back seat of the car.

Chase and Taub came in the garage and Lucy quickly closed the door. They carried Greg in the house and Lucy told them to take him into the family room.

"Lucy, we can take him up to bed for you." Taub said.

"No, just leave him there. You guys did more for him tonight than he deserves. I should make him sleep in his car." Lucy snapped.

Chase, Taub and Foreman looked at each other. Lucy was fit to be tied and they almost felt sorry for their boss when he woke up. _**Almost**_.

Although he was out cold and a dead weight, Lucy's anger, frustration and fear that Greg might have taken something worse than Vicodin allowed her to quickly strip Greg down to his boxers and t-shirt.

She moved so fast, no one had a chance to offer to help her and she made sure no one saw his damaged thigh.

Lucy became gentle as she examined him for signs he had been in a fight, especially checking for bumps on his head before finally flashing a penlight in his eyes. The pupils were dilated but responsive. She checked his pulse. Slow but steady.

Lucy looked up to see Foreman studying her intently. Covering her fears so well that even he couldn't tell how scared she was now, Lucy gave Greg the once over again, this time looking for needle marks.

"He took something, but I don't know what. I don't see any needle marks." Lucy said calmly as she started searching Greg's clothes.

She found the prescription bottle in his jeans pocket and sighed heavily. It was Vicodin. She counted the pills. Eight were missing from a thirty day prescription.

From what Lucy had been told and seen in his medical records, swallowing eight Vicodin was like an appetizer for him. Follow that with God knows how many bourbon chasers and this is what you get.

She motioned Foreman, Chase and Taub to follow her into her father's old office, now Greg's, his medical journals scattered all over the place. She turned on the computer in there and looked up the doctor. The guy was legitimate and had never been in trouble.

They didn't even want to know how House managed to con the doctor into writing him a prescription for Vicodin, but at least he couldn't steal this doctor's prescription pad to forge a prescription.

With a little more digging online, Lucy discovered that this doctor's practice had gone digital, electronically transmitting all prescriptions to the pharmacy except those for Class II narcotics like oxycontin.

The law didn't allow for those to be written for more than thirty days worth at a time. Each refill required a separate prescription and the dosages and schedule for taking then had to be written in a specific way or the pharmacist would rightfully refuse to fill the prescription. A hard copy was always kept on file.

Greg's prescription was dated five days ago and there was one refill on it, but there really was no way for Lucy to know if this was the first time he had taken Vicodin since she came home except to confront him when he woke up. He could even have drugs hidden somewhere in this house.

"Do you guys want some coffee?" Lucy asked as she shut the computer down. All three said yes and followed her into the kitchen.

The only sounds in the kitchen were those made by Lucy as she made coffee for them.

Chase broke the silence as Lucy poured their coffee and put out a plate of homemade biscotti.

"What are you going to do now, Lucy?" he asked. He really wanted to throttle House. Lucy didn't deserve to go through this, but he didn't know what to do to help. At times, he had looked up to House as an older brother/father figure and he was half way in love with Lucy because she was beautiful, smart, down to earth and she could handle House without changing the essence of who he was.

"I guess I'll have to wait until he wakes up to see what's biting his ass now. I missed something." Lucy said. "I want you guys to go back to the hospital and search our office and conference room thoroughly to see if he has anything hidden there. He has a bottle in his desk, but I'm not too worried about that right now. Search the office and conference room the same way we search a patient's home. Don't overlook any spot regardless of how insignificant you might think it is. Leave a message on my cell if you find something.

"Lucy," Taub said. "If you knew he was sneaking booze at the hospital, why didn't you say something sooner? This might have been avoided."

"Taub, where the hell have you been for the last three years? He's always kept a bottle in his desk, but I've never known him to drink during working hours. I only found that out this morning when I saw him spike his coffee. Since I don't make a habit of spying on him, I don't know how long it's been going on and he doesn't know I saw him do it yet. I was going to confront him tonight when he came home." Lucy snapped.

Foreman spoke up.

"Lucy, is there anything wrong that we need to know about? Whatever it is, you and House don't have to face it alone. We're here for the both of you, just like your family is."

Lucy had no intention of telling these three she was pregnant before she told Greg, but she got one of Greg's "Hot damn, I solved the case!" looks on her face and let out a little yell.

"That's it! He thinks there's something wrong with me and I won't tell him! He put two and two together and came up with five, the big ciuccio! I knew it was going to be a life-long struggle to keep him clean, but I didn't think he'd go stupid on me so fast! Instead of coming right out and asking me if anything was wrong, he reverted to the familiarity of numbing himself so he wouldn't have to deal with it!"

"Lucy, you should have come to dinner with us. This might not have happened if you did." Taub said again. Lucy glared at him.

"Taub, don't you dare dump all the blame for this on me!" Lucy was yelling almost as loudly at Taub as she did at Greg. "That I'm married to a jackass who would rather deflect instead of asking me if anything is wrong is my problem, but don't you even dare to presume to blame only me for this! Greg has to accept the fact that he needs to talk to me instead of trying to numb himself silly because he can't face something. You three morons are supposed to be so smart, but you all missed the same things I did."

Taub's mouth dropped open, but Lucy wasn't finished yet. Chase and Foreman stifled a laugh. Lucy calling them morons was the same as House doing it.

"By the grace of the God that my husband doesn't believe in, everything he's done to himself over the years hasn't done as much damage as it rightfully should have. Any other person would have been dead long before now. When he wakes up, he might wish he was dead. He can't do this anymore. This is the last time I'll let him get away with it! It's time for Peter Pan to grow up!"

She handed Foreman the Vicodin bottle.

"See that this is disposed of properly. Make sure you search the office thoroughly, and look anyplace you might think he would hide drugs anywhere in the hospital. I'll take care of things here." Lucy said with determination.

As she ushered the three of them out of the house, she looked each of them in the eye and said, "If one word about this gets out, I'll fire the three of you!"

They believed her.

Lucy went upstairs to get clean pajamas and a robe ready for Greg. Instead of going to bed herself, she went back downstairs. She didn't want Greg to be alone downstairs in case something happened, and she never slept well without Greg beside her anyway.

As Lucy returned to the family room, she was greeted by Greg's soft snoring, his mouth hanging open, one arm dangling off the couch. Lucy flashed the penlight in his eyes again, and his pupils responded even though he was stoned. She checked his pulse again and it was the same as it was before.

Although she wanted to wake him up and give him holy hell, she gently put his arm across his chest and covered him with an afghan. Then she got one for herself and settled into her father's old double leather recliner, trying not to remember the things she and Greg had done in it.

Eventually, Lucy fell into a restless sleep, trying not to think of how many hiding places Greg could find for drugs in this house. Each time she woke up, she checked on him.

Around six Friday morning, Lucy woke up with a migraine. She still hated when they snuck up on her in her sleep and it was too late to do anything about it but go back to sleep. Greg was still out cold.

She quietly got up and went upstairs to the bathroom, managing to brush her teeth and take two Excedrin, knowing it was useless at this point. She needed to be in bed with an ice pack.

She checked her cell phone. She had a one-word text from Foreman. "Clean".

Lucy gave a sigh of relief, but she felt bad that they had probably been up most of the night searching for Vicodin. Now she just had to get to the bottom of this.

As Lucy quietly walked into the family room, she was greeted by a loud groan instead of snoring. Greg was waking up and he was sure to have one hell of a hangover. She folded her afghan and waited for the moaning and groaning to stop.

When he first opened his eyes, Greg didn't realize where he was right away. Then he remembered sitting in Fiorello's drinking and taking Vicodin, although he couldn't remember how many. He remembered calling Foreman, but this didn't look like Foreman's apartment. Damn it! Foreman brought him home!

He slowly got up and noticed Lucy sitting in the recliner, awake, no expression on her face. How was he going to explain this?

"Lucy, I . . . " Greg tried to explain with his head in his hands.

"Greg, go upstairs and get cleaned up. We'll talk over breakfast."

Lucy calmly got up and tossed Greg's pajamas at him as she went to use the bathroom off the kitchen, quietly throwing up the Excedrin she just swallowed.

"_**NOW **_you get morning sickness, Mazzelli?" she said to her reflection as she quickly rinsed her mouth and went to start breakfast. She never even gave it a second thought that stress was causing her problems right now. She had to get to the bottom of this pill business before she focused on anything else, like telling Greg there was a good chance he would be a father in a few months.

About twenty minutes later, a very apprehensive and contrite Greg slowly made his way into the kitchen, one hand rubbing his jaw. There was a glass of cold water and two aspirin on the table for him and he swallowed them and drank the water quickly.

Lucy was taking this too calmly, just serving him breakfast, pouring him coffee and a big glass of orange juice. All he had to do was wait for the volcano to erupt, but he was surprised that Lucy remained calm and quiet. He was so ashamed of his behavior that he did not pick up on the signs that she had a migraine that he normally would have.

"Why Greg?" Lucy asked in a quiet voice as she slowly ate her toast. She was so nauseated now she wasn't even sure toast would stay down. It was Friday. She had all weekend for the migraine to go away.

"What happened that you couldn't talk to me? What are you hiding from? I thought we had agreed to talk to each other when we had a problem. I saw you spike your coffee with booze yesterday, but that wasn't the first time, was it? And why the pills? What can't you face now? I thought we got it all out in the open."

The throbbing in Lucy's head seemed to increase with each word she spoke.

"Lucy, you're the one who's hiding something from me." Greg replied, completely unnerved by Lucy's apparent calmness. He had been ready for lots of yelling and screaming, not calmness.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't have any secrets from you! I never did! Lucy exclaimed, ignoring the thunderclap of pain in her head.

"Lucy, I'm an addict, not a moron. Give me some credit. You're hiding something from me. You haven't said anything about it, but don't you think I've noticed how tired you've been lately?" Greg's voice cracked.

"What's wrong with you that you see the need to hide it from me, won't tell me about? I don't want anything to happen to you!"

"I've told you more than once nothing's wrong, but you still decided to take the coward's way out one more time, swallow a pill and numb yourself so you don't have to feel anything instead of believing me. Makes sense. Have a problem, don't confront it. Take a pill instead. All your worries just disappear. Life is just a bowl of cherries now. Greg, I'm not hiding anything from you. I wouldn't do that." Lucy said as calmly as she could, but every word dripped sarcasm.

The migraine was getting worse by the second. Good Lord! He'd seen her with a migraine before. Couldn't he tell?

"Why did you have an appointment with Burke then?" Greg demanded.

"Greg, I missed my appointment in June because we were so busy, remember? This is the soonest I was able to get in. That's all." Lucy said.

Now Lucy realized that it still hadn't dawned on Greg that she was be pregnant, even though he had been teasing her about it.

In addition to endometriosis, Lucy wasn't in her twenties any more, stacking the deck against a pregnancy even more. Greg knew her cycle so well that the only birth control they had ever used was condoms and they stopped using them right before they got married the first time.

Greg hadn't reached for a rubber once since she came home and he still jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Well, what did Burke say? What aren't you telling me? There was a look of panic in Greg's eyes.

Now Lucy realized that in order to get to the bottom of the pill business, she had to tell Greg she was pregnant first.

"Greg, I'm . . .." Before Lucy could finish her sentence, the migraine pain ramped up.

She looked at Greg and was seeing haloes of light around him and everything else. She tried to stand up, but the room started to spin. As she started to lose her balance, Greg grabbed her.

"Lucy! There is something wrong with you! Tell me, please!" Greg wrapped his arms around her as the room slowly stopped spinning for Lucy.

Lucy tried to put her hand up to Greg's face in a reassuring gesture, but couldn't quite make it.

"There's nothing to tell Greg."

"You can't even stand up! Baby, what's wrong with you?" Greg cried.

"This isn't exactly how I planned on telling you, but I'm pregnant. Right now I have a migraine. I need some sleep." Lucy mumbled. "We'll have to finish this later."

She had regained her balance and made the few steps to the refrigerator to get an ice pack and slowly went upstairs to bed.

Greg let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, but he didn't feel much better than he had five minutes earlier, certain that the stress of knowing what he did last night probably brought on this migraine, and he should have realized she had one. The fact that she hadn't raised her voice and gone ballistic on him should have tipped him off.

Having experienced Lucy with a migraine before, he cleaned up the kitchen before he went to check on her. If she stayed true to form, she would have the ice pack on the back of her neck and their bedroom would be as dark as she could make it and she would sleep for a good bit of the day. He took his time cleaning up the breakfast dishes, giving her time to fall asleep.

Greg quietly made his way to their bedroom and saw that Lucy was already out cold. He got dressed and left the house. Now it was his turn to drive around aimlessly while he thought about what he had done. He sure as hell couldn't go to Wilson for advice. Advice from that quarter rarely turned out well for him. He couldn't go to his team either, for that matter. Tony & Liza?

No. He had to be an adult and work it out himself. Lucy had told him that nothing was wrong, and she had never lied to him, ever. She just hadn't found the right moment to tell him she was pregnant, and really she had just found out herself.

Pregnant. How far along was she? Maybe Lucy would make it through this time and he would be a father. Because of Lucy, he had overcome his fears of being a bad father, but that was ten years ago. Was he still okay with becoming a parent at his age? He had to be. A baby was the one thing Lucy wanted and didn't think she would ever have. How could he deny her that?

Greg had thought she might be pregnant, but they had all been so busy, he never got past the teasing stage with her. In retrospect, it wasn't too surprising. Their love life had picked up where it had left off before they divorced and he had been riding bareback since she came home, always having a hard time keeping his hands off her.

He remembered when he started teasing her, some time back in August.

They were all arguing about how to proceed with testing for a patient, Lucy and his team all against him. Lucy was arguing the loudest of them all.

Greg stared at her and said, "Lucy, you're pregnant."

Chase, Foreman and Taub weren't surprised House would bring up something as personal as their love life, especially when he was trying to put his theories ahead of Lucy's. Lucy just got mad.

"How?" she snorted angrily. "By you, you old goat? I have a better chance of getting knocked up by one of these three than I do you! Bite me!"

More laughter from the team, especially Foreman.

When these two argued, they didn't pull any punches or care who was in the room, and it was so much better than watching House trying to do his job and placate Cuddy at the same time. Lucy made him a better doctor and she was no slouch herself.

"You mean you'd sleep with Dr. 90210 or the Wombat?" Greg had that shit eating grin on his face and Lucy wanted to wipe it off. She picked up bally and threw it hard across the room at him, hitting him right on his belt buckle. Her aim was still dead on. Lucy stood in front of her husband, seething.

"Lucy, watch where you're throwing that thing!" Greg yelled. "You could hurt something!" More laughter from the team.

"Wear a cup! You forgot to include Foreman in the mix, you ass!" Lucy growled.

Taub broke the silence that followed.

"Lucy, I would be honored to sleep with you and father your child."

Greg almost exploded, Foreman and Chase broke into hysterical laughter and Lucy saw her chance to get her way - again.

"You three, let's go! We'll treat the patient while this numb nuts sits here and plays video games. We do all the work, he gets all the glory! If that's not a crock of shit I don't know what is! Taub, you're the only one who stepped up to the plate. Get a room and I'll meet you after work. Make sure there's champagne and strawberries." Lucy snapped

Glaring at Greg, Lucy turned and walked out of the office, the team obediently following her like goslings following their mother, leaving Greg standing there with his mouth hanging open at Lucy's parting remark.

Why had he turned his suspicions that Lucy was pregnant into something was wrong with her and he couldn't face it, so he turned to Vicodin to dull his pain and fear of losing her? Those fears were groundless and had been since Lucy came home. Lucy believed in him, all he had to do was talk to her. Maybe Nolan shouldn't have been so quick to discharge him.

It was almost six, so he headed home. Lucy might be awake now and he would talk to her, hopefully like an adult.

Lucy was coming out of the shower as Greg came into the bedroom. She was pale, but she looked better than she had this morning. Unfortunately, she had a scowl on her face.

Greg didn't know if it was because of the migraine, she was still mad, or both. He walked toward her and she sidestepped him on her way out of the room. Still mad.

Before she got to the door, Lucy turned to him and said, "Would you mind ordering something for dinner? I don't really feel up to cooking tonight. You know what I like. I'll be downstairs."

And she left Greg standing there, still not knowing where things stood. He ordered from Fiorello's and sat down on the couch in their room, shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Shit! She's had enough of me. She's going to leave me for good and I'll really be alone this time! I'll never see my kid!" he said to himself.

Lucy had gone into the family room and looked out over the backyard. A very light misty snow had started falling earlier and everything was lightly coated with it. Lucy shivered a little. She could only imagine what this dampness was doing to Greg's leg, especially since it looked like he had been out driving around all day in it.

Lucy went to the kitchen to wait for Greg and the delivery boy. She was starved, since she had barely managed to eat a slice of toast this morning before the migraine slammed her full force.

Greg paid the delivery boy and they sat down to eat. You could cut the tension in the kitchen with a knife.

"Okay, Greg. Give me a legitimate reason why you took Vicodin again." Lucy asked when they were through with their dinner.

Greg looked at her. Lucy's anger was on simmer, but her beautiful face was full of concern, and rightly so. For better or worse, she had married an ass again.

He took a deep breath.

"Baby, I've been walking on eggshells ever since I came out of Mayfield and started seeing Cuddy. When we broke up, I thought that was it for me, that I was destined to be alone. After the infarction, I became an an addict, waiting for the day when that one pill would finally fry my liver for good and I would die or I just OD'd. I tried so hard to be what she wanted, as if fighting to stay off drugs wasn't hard enough. I told her that I was a crappy doctor because I loved her but I would choose her every time if I could be happy. I convinced myself that was completely acceptable, then it was all over in a flash. I was out of control before I knew what was happening. Booze, pills, hookers. All cries for help, and your brother was the only one who heard them. I really thought I was having another breakdown the day you walked into my hospital room, but you were real, you came back to me in spite of everything. I'm the doctor I was when I came here, and after everything that happened, I started thinking I was going to lose everything again, including you." Greg answered in a defeated tone.

"Bullshit!" Lucy exclaimed angrily. "Stop making excuses for your actions. I asked you for a legitimate reason to take Vicodin, not the excuses you use to deflect what you're really feeling so you can justify taking it, at least to yourself. Other than your leg, you don't have a legitimate reason to take pills unless you really want to be a junkie. If the pain is getting worse, I need to know that so we can look at other ways to relieve it. If it's not, well, shit happens in relationships, but most people get through it without crutches. I'm not going anywhere anymore, but I have no intention of becoming a widow before I'm forty and raising this baby without a father." Lucy said, raising her voice.

"Now you sound like Cuddy the night I took Vicodin." Greg answered. That was the worst thing he could have said. Lucy's simmering temper boiled over.

"Don't you ever dare compare me to Cuddy again, Greg! My name is Lucy House, not Lisa Cuddy. I am nothing like her and I never will be! I'm here, she's not. I love you and I believe in you more than enough to work through this with you. No one forced me to come home. I came home because I wanted to start over, not because I want to hurt you again! If the truth hadn't been kept from me, I would have come back when Stacy left you no matter what you said to me, you jackass!" she yelled as she pushed away from the table.

"Why shouldn't I make the comparison? Are you going to leave me again if I keep taking pills? Did you come back out of pity? You already left me once, and you started drinking. Why shouldn't I think you'll either start drinking or leave me again, or both?" Greg snarked.

"I didn't come back out of pity. I didn't even say anything close to that! I don't pity you and I won't leave you, you son of a bitch, but you might wish I would if you don't stop this crap, and I won't crawl into a bottle either! For the last time, I came home because I love you. I never stopped loving you! The first good night's sleep I got since I left you was the first night I spent in your apartment, even though I was still alone! Pity you? You should know that I'm not wired that way, you moron!" Lucy was shaking with anger.

Greg had always known Lucy had his back, but had been too busy feeling sorry for himself to remember her love for him motivated Lucy and nothing else. Now he finally saw exactly what that meant for her, how leaving him in the first place had hurt her almost beyond endurance. He finally understood what her love for him meant, the sacrifice Lucy had made because she thought he would be happier without her around. She gave up what she valued most, their marriage and family, to give him what she thought he wanted. A life without her in it. He definitely understood the drinking as a means of numbing herself. Now she was sacrificing her integrity to keep this lapse as quiet as possible, and she was going to stick with him no matter what.

"Lucy, I promise you, I swear to you that I'll never take Vicodin or any drugs again. I'll even stop drinking if you want me to . . .". Before Greg could continue, Lucy angrily interrupted him.

"No, Greg, that's not how it works. I shouldn't even have to tell you that." Lucy snapped. "I'll probably regret saying this, but since I came home, you've cut back on your drinking on your own, and that's not the big issue right now. Vicodin is. You are a recovering addict. You always will be a recovering addict. That's a cold, hard fact. The craving for drugs, that escape you supposedly get from them, will never completely go away. By making promises that even a clean and sober person would have trouble keeping, you're automatically setting yourself up for failure, no matter how good your intentions are. That's what happened with you and Cuddy. You made all sorts of promises to yourself and to her because you wanted it to work. You compromised your principles and didn't look beyond that to what would happen when you started acting like yourself. Cuddy tried to use that to her advantage, didn't she? I never expected you to behave in any certain way, did I? I expected you to be yourself. I love Greg House the man. I will always love you and be in love with you. Greg House the man didn't seem to be acceptable to Cuddy. Don't sabotage our marriage again like you sabotaged your relationship with Cuddy! Life will not be all pie in the sky, but I will be here for you, there's no need to be afraid I'll leave you. I don't want to do that."

There was steel in Lucy's voice and disgust as well. After all the arguments they had about the past since she came home, Lucy knew why he turned down her efforts at a reconciliation, she had always known, but that was so much bullshit to her and she made sure he knew it. She had never pitied Greg and never believed she would be better off without him. She loved him and had compassion for what he had gone through as a child.

Lucy understood that he was in constant physical pain that could be made worse by his emotions. No one seemed to get that enough to want to help him, not even Dr. Nolan, if you wanted Lucy's opinion.

Greg knew Vicodin wasn't the answer, especially the way he took it, but everyone enabled him in his addiction until now. The last thing Lucy was was an enabler. She was always researching methods of chronic pain control and bouncing them off Dr. Witherspoon, Greg's pain management doctor, approaching it with the same determination she displayed when she was fourteen and diagnosed her own endometriosis.

She would also never understand why Greg would lower himself to make himself more acceptable to Cuddy, and why Cuddy wouldn't accept him for who he was. The train wreck that she pulled him out of was inevitable.

Greg stared at her. It was as if Lucy had been around the entire time he and Cuddy were a couple. She knew how he operated better than anyone and never pigeonholed him in any way. She accepted him as he was. And he was disgusted with himself and his stubbornness.

He never had to lose the comfort and security he had found with Lucy. He should have welcomed her with open arms the first time she attempted a reconciliation. Hell, he should have sobered up when Tony handed him the divorce papers and never let Lucy go at all. They would have both been spared a lot of pain.

Lucy continued talking quickly and angrily. "If you won't go to NA meetings or back to Nolan, you have to talk to me when you start to feel the craving for Vicodin or something bothers you. There's no way around it. You're getting healthy again, and you can't do this anymore, your body won't take it and I won't accept this behavior. I'll put up with a lot from you because I know you're just being yourself, but not this. It took awhile for me to get you to do it, but you used to open up to me as much as you were capable of doing. That's the only promise I want from you, that you'll come to me, regardless of how insignificant you think it is. We'll work something out." Lucy snapped.

Greg mentally sighed in relief. He was still in the doghouse, but he hadn't completely blown it, at least not yet.

"Greg, maybe you should try antidepressants again." Lucy said tentatively. "They seemed to help you before . . ." Lucy never got to finish her sentence.

"No, Lucy, no antidepressants. I'm not convinced I was ever depressed enough in the first place to need them, and I don't like the way I feel on them." Greg answered.

"Greg, there are studies documenting the fact that antidepressants can help chronic pain sufferers. If you feel your judgement's clouded by one, we can try another." Lucy said, desperate to help him.

Greg could hear the desperation in her voice and decided to go for broke. There was one bit of information he hadn't told Lucy yet. If he didn't tell her, Wilson might let it slip, thinking Lucy knew everything. Who knew how she would react to that?

"Roll the dice, House. She wants you to talk" Greg told himself.

"No, Lucy. There's one more story I haven't told you about what happened while you were gone. I held it back because, well, I just held it back. I didn't think it was necessary, but now I see that it is." Greg said, staring at the table, unwilling to make eye contact with her.

Lucy braced herself.

"A few months before my breakdown, the pain in my leg was getting worse. I found a doctor who would treat me with Methadone. It worked. I was pain free for the first time since the Ketamine treatment.

Lucy's stomach heaved. She stood up with her hands clamped over her mouth, trying to keep her dinner down. A look of panic came over her face.

"Are you fucking crazy?" she gasped when the nausea left her long enough to speak.

Greg stared at her. He finally did it, finally got her to drop the "F" bomb.

Lucy's stomach heaved again and she sat down, still covering her mouth.

If he had gotten addicted to heroin and then used Methadone to get off it, Lucy had a bigger fight on her hands than the siren call of Vicodin.

"Baby, are you all right?" Greg asked as he watched her struggle to keep her dinner down.

"I checked you for track marks last night!" she said in a quiet voice as the nausea subsided again. "Were you using heroin before?"

She suddenly remembered the stories about "recreational" drug use she had heard from her brother before Greg came to Princeton. Jim was never specific, but had he tried heroin before? She had always presumed marijuana and maybe a little coke or uppers. Was she so naive then not to have even considered heroin? Was she still being naive?

"No, Lucy, but I thought about it. I was desperate to get out of pain." Greg responded, looking at the floor in shame. "Methadone seemed a slightly less insane way to deal with my pain than heroin and I was aware of the risks involved."

"You stopped. What happened?" she asked, speaking slowly, afraid to move.

"I stopped breathing in my office. They brought me around, and Foreman was convinced I was using heroin. So was your brother. He took me to dinner to "celebrate cheating death", but I wouldn't drink any alcohol for fear of another respiratory arrest until he goaded me into it. I had my drink, left the restaurant and made myself throw up in the alley. He caught me. Of course he gave me hell, but I tossed my cane in the garbage and walked away without a limp. One thing led to another and I quit my job. Ironically, I had set up an interview at Saint Sebastian's to set up a Diagnostics Department there."

Lucy sat perfectly still, afraid that any movement would bring the nausea back. Greg went on with his story. She was having a nightmare with her eyes wide open.

"Cuddy ended up talking me into staying and set up a schedule for me to take the Methadone. I stopped taking it because I felt so good, I allowed a patient's parents to dictate treatment and what tests I should run on their kid. It was a simple problem that should have been diagnosed immediately, but I was so lulled by the complete absence of pain, the kid went through some hell he shouldn't have. Suddenly, the risks I was taking with my life by using methadone didn't seem worthwhile and I wasn't too crazy about Cuddy controlling my meds. I went back to Vicodin and bourbon, more bouts of insomnia, sleeping pills and finally began hallucinating, and ended up in Mayfield. You know it all now."

"You're fucking crazy." Lucy said.

Greg couldn't stand to hear her swear anymore. He went over to her chair, wanting to comfort her, but she got up quickly and backed away from him.

"Lucy!" Greg said as she backed away from him.

"Get away from me! Don't touch me!" Lucy gasped. "Go sleep downstairs!" She turned and ran upstairs, with Greg calling out to her to come back.

When she got to their room, she grabbed his pajama bottoms, a robe and his old slippers and put them out in the hall. She knew she was being completely unreasonable, that they needed to talk some more about this, but she locked the door. She had to work through this horror alone before she could deal with it rationally.

"Dear God, what did I do to him? How can he not blame me?" Lucy whispered to the room.

The nausea was returning and she clamped her jaw shut as she fought her emotions and stomach. She was pacing the room when she heard Greg outside the door asking to be let in. Lucy couldn't face him.

"I've done enough to you Greg. Just sleep downstairs." Lucy begged.

Greg picked up his pajamas and tried one more time.

"Lucy, you didn't do anything. I don't blame you for anything. I never did. None of it is your fault. Please let me in."

"No. Please just go downstairs."

Greg leaned heavily against the wall, wishing he could turn back time and take back what he had said about the Methadone, even though he knew it would be much worse if he held it back and Lucy found out some other way. He knew she felt responsible for what had happened to him, how deep Lucy's guilt about all of it went, and how scared she must have been last night when his team brought him home.

Unlike her brother, Lucy wasn't someone who could easily be made to feel guilty about anything. She was the most important thing in his life as he was to her and he had just told her the worst thing he possibly could have, even worse than telling her he didn't love her all those years ago. Gripping the banister with both hands, Greg slowly made his way downstairs and to the basement.

Lucy tried to relax, but she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Greg lying in an alley, half dead from an overdose of heroin, an empty syringe next to his hand. She would have believed Greg if he told her he hadn't used heroin even if she hadn't checked him for track marks last night, but now that she knew about the Methadone, his desperate quest for pain relief and his telling her he actually thought about shooting up, she didnt know what to think or do.

None of this should have happened. She should have never divorced him. The infarction would have happened anyway, but she would have pushed for a quicker diagnosis, wouldn't have let him suffer until the only alternatives he had were amputation or the surgery he had. Lucy would only have allowed that as a last minute Hail Mary to save him and she would have made sure the surgeon would have removed as little muscle and tissue as was necessary and no more, even if she had to get permission to scrub in and observe.

Lucy's migraine was threatening to return and she quietly crept down to the kitchen and got some Coke and a glass with ice and another ice pack. As quietly as she crept into the kitchen, she crept back out and got back upstairs without Greg hearing her.

The Coke settled the nausea enough for Lucy to take two Excedrin without them and her dinner coming back up on her, and she settled back on the couch with the ice pack on the back of her neck. Sleep still wouldn't come so she decided to try soaking in a hot bath to see if that would relax her enough to let her sleep.

Meanwhile, down in the "Man Cave" Greg was toweling off after his shower, which was why he didn't hear Lucy in the kitchen. The shower had done nothing to ease the tension in his shoulders and neck and his leg was throbbing, a combination of the damp weather and his emotions. Lucy had pointed out that part of his pain had a psychological cause and he begrudgingly agreed with her.

Greg looked longingly at the full wet bar that Frank had installed when the house was remodeled. No, he better not drink himself into a stupor. He was still in a butt load of trouble and he needed a clear head to deal with the mess he made. Most of all, he had to convince Lucy that he didn't blame her for anything.

He found the heating pad and settled himself alone in bed. The heat began seeping through his mangled thigh and he channel surfed between the snatches of sleep he got. Like Lucy, he kept having visions of himself in an alley, shooting up, only his nightmare vision included sharing a needle with other junkies and nodding off in painless bliss, his life completely taken over by drugs, unable to hold a job, flat broke, only interested in his next fix, unable and unwilling to give up a pain free leg.

Soaking in the tub didn't relax Lucy and she finally gave up trying to sleep, so she just sat on the couch, staring straight ahead most of the night, unable to get those horrible images of Greg out of her head.

Lucy decided to take a big chance and place all her trust in Greg to see if he would lie to her face or tell her the truth. She picked up her glass and headed downstairs.

To her surprise, Greg had already had breakfast made and on a tray, intending to bring it to her in bed. He was looking for the thermal pitcher for the coffee. Without a word, Lucy made a beeline for the coffee pot and poured herself a mug.

Greg smiled a little. "Lucy, didn't Burke tell you avoid caffeine while you're pregnant?" Lucy just glared at him as she plopped down on a chair.

"All he said was cut back." Lucy grumbled as sipped the coffee. "Your coffee's still not half bad, you know."

"Well, you just blew your chance at breakfast in bed, baby." Greg said, hoping to make the scowl disappear from her face. Didn't work.

"Greg, I don't think I got more than 4 hours of sleep between last night and the night before. I'm not in the mood for your jokes." Lucy grumbled as she took another sip of coffee.

Greg put their plates on the table and they started to eat.

"Greg, I'm going to fight tooth and nail to help keep you off drugs, but you have to help too. Don't take advantage of my trust and make me look like a fool because I believe in you." Lucy said quietly as she ate her toast.

"I made Chase, Foreman and Taub search our offices last night. I'm not going to look for drugs in this house or your car or anywhere on the property. If you say it's so, I'll believe you if you tell me there aren't any drugs hidden anywhere. If I find out you're lying to me, we have a big problem and I will make your life a living hell. You can make book on that. I told you last night I don't want to be a widow or raise this baby without its father. I meant that." Lucy said as she swallowed the last of her bacon and toast.

She had always trusted Greg and wanted to do so now.

Greg looked her straight in the eye.

"There are no pills or drugs of any kind in this house or anywhere else, Lucy, and you didn't have to have the offices searched. There was never anything there but a bottle of bourbon. I kept the pills in my back pack until Thursday night. That was the first time I took Vicodin since your brother put me in the hospital." Greg said, looking directly at her with an unwavering gaze.

Lucy always knew when Greg was lying or nervous. He had a "tell". His left hand clenched into a fist and she had seen him do that many times with her brother so he wouldn't hurt his feelings. The only times he had lied to her was the night he told her their marriage was a mistake and every time he rejected her attempts at getting back together. He wasn't lying now, she was positive of that.

The tension of the past forty eight hours left Lucy's body and she practically slumped over in her chair, exhaustion hitting her full force. She looked at Greg and gave a small smile.

"You don't look like you got much more sleep than I did, Greg." Lucy said in a small voice.

"Probably not and my leg is hurting like a bitch on top of it all. Is the migraine gone now?" Greg asked her he pushed a stray curl away from her face.

"Yeah, it's gone now." Lucy said. "But I'm really beat."

"I vote we go back to bed right now."

"No arguments from me. Let's go." Lucy said.

They quickly cleaned up the breakfast dishes and Lucy headed downstairs.

"Lucy, where are you going?" Greg asked as he stopped her at the top of the stairs.

"Back to bed." Lucy answered.

"Our bedroom's upstairs, baby." Greg said with a smile.

It wouldn't be the first time they slept downstairs, but he just wanted to tease her a bit and make her smile again.

"Unless you sold it, there's a perfectly good bed down there waiting for us." Lucy said, rewarding Greg with a smile.

On the way downstairs, Greg thanked his lucky stars again. His marriage was battered and bruised, but it was still in one piece. A much wiser Lucy still would not give up on him. That unwavering faith and trust she had always had in him was still there, but she had drawn a line in the sand and wasn't going to take crap like this from him. He heard an underlying tone of steel in her voice and he had to toe the line now or lose everything, including himself.

Lucy went into the bathroom and closed the door. Greg smiled to himself. She still wouldn't let him in when she was using the bathroom. He got himself comfortable in bed and waited.

Lucy came out, practically dragging her feet and crawled into bed and snuggled up against Greg as he pulled the blankets over both of them.

Outside, the snowy drizzle that had been falling yesterday had turned into a light snowfall, but even the basement of the house was nice and toasty warm. Greg thought it was a shame that there wasn't a fireplace in this room or in their bedroom upstairs. That would have made everything perfect.

Greg kept channel surfing until he found "Sponge Bob".

Lucy picked her head up from Greg's chest and watched for a few minutes, then looked up at him.

"I usually don't complain about what you watch, but I'm sorry, I just can't get into this. I'm a Bugs Bunny girl. Can you please find something else?" Lucy asked.

Greg laughed. "On one condition, Lucy."

Lucy scowled. "What's that?"

"You have to stop saying "fuck"." Greg said with one of his crooked smiles.

"Huh?" Lucy was totally confused. "I've said that word before!"

"No Lucy, that's not a word I've heard you use in the course of a conversation or any fight we've ever had except this one. Until last night, I only heard you use that word once in a conversation and you were mad at your brother." Greg gave her another crooked smile.

"So you don't want me to say that word ever again?"

Now Greg laughed. "Only when I make love to you, baby. Only when I make love to you."

Lucy scowled at him.

"Bite me!" she snapped as she put her head back down on Greg's chest.

"That's my girl." Greg said with a smile as he gently rubbed Lucy's back and she settled down and started to fall asleep.

Once Greg knew she was asleep, he went back to Sponge Bob, but he didn't stay awake much longer than Lucy did. They slept most of the day.

While they slept, the light snowfall had slowly turned into a full blown snowstorm.

Around dinner time, Greg woke up to an empty bed.

"Damn!" he mumbled out loud as he rubbed his leg. "How is it that she can still slip away from me and I don't know it?"

He worked the stiffness out of his leg and went to look for Lucy. He didn't have to go far. Since they spent time in his "Man Cave", Lucy made sure there was food in the kitchen there. She was making dinner for them, baked breaded pork chops, baked potatoes and a tossed salad. A fire burned in the Man Cave fireplace.

Greg was still a little on edge even though his wife had apparently finished laying down the law. Lucy's tirade wasn't nearly as bad as he expected, most likely because she was drained from the migraine. Was there more to come? He thought he had gotten off a little too easy.

Lucy looked at him with a smile as he walked over to her and put his arms around her. She hugged him tight.

"Lucy, we're okay now, right?" Greg whispered.

Lucy pulled back and stared at him.

"Greg, how many times or ways do I have to say it? Do you want me to have some kind of legal agreement drawn up? I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not giving up on us like I did the first time and I will never give up on you. I love you too much to let you destroy yourself, but you have to meet me at least half way. How many times do I have to say that? If you had just believed me when I said nothing was wrong with me, we could have avoided this. I really wasn't sure I was pregnant until day before yesterday and I didn't see the need to say anything until I knew for sure. Tell me something, Greg. If I had told you I was pregnant at the hospital, would you have taken the pills anyway or thrown them away? You really shook me up when I saw you pour bourbon in your coffee."

Greg looked at his wife. "No, Lucy, I wouldn't have taken the pills if you had told me you were pregnant at the hospital. I would have thrown them away." he said quietly as he kissed her forehead.

"Then this was my fault." Lucy said simply. "I should have just told you at the hospital."

"No, Lucy, just stop blaming yourself, please. No one made me sneak bourbon in my coffee or make me take Vicodin but me. I was scared when I shouldn't have been. I'm responsible, not you." Greg didn't want Lucy to place blame on herself when it didn't belong there.

Lucy had a pained expression on her face, unable to speak for a few seconds.

"Greg, I want our marriage to be like it was before I had the first miscarriage and my parents were alive. Everything was working for us then because you were learning to trust someone for the first time in your life, and I let you down, first by leaving you and now by not telling you I thought I was pregnant."

"Don't interrupt me." Lucy said as one more time , Greg tried to absolve her of something that he didn't blame her for.

"Greg, we were honest with each other when we got together. Whatever you did, you did it on your own, not because I expected you to behave in a certain way, and everything I did, I did because I wanted to, and you knew damn well I wouldn't do anything else. I can't forget how my parents died or losing two babies or what happened to you in the past ten years and the feelings of guilt I have about all of it. How can I do that? I can't help but think that if I had stayed with you, rode out your grief as well as mine, you wouldn't have become an addict after the infarction. I would have been here for you, we would have found another way."

"Lucy, you're a contradiction to end all contradictions!" Greg said with a smile. "You just laid down the law to me, yet you forgave me after taking Vicodin and scaring the living daylights out of you, but you can't accept the fact that I don't blame you for anything? How can you still be so forgiving and understanding after what I just did? It's not logical and I'm still an ass!"

"Greg, how can you forgive me? I knew you were an ass before Jim brought you here, but the minute I met you, I knew somewhere inside you was a good man. I could have done a lot worse than you. My father knew it too, otherwise you would have never gotten anywhere near me. My parents would have never opened up their home to you and accepted you as family. Dad let nature take its course with us because he knew we belonged together, like two puzzle pieces. You can and do deserve to be happy, but you have to take the good with the bad. That's how life is. I left you because I didn't know how to get through to you and I was wrong to do that. I gave up, something I never did before or since, and I won't do it now. Now sit your sorry ass down and let's have dinner and go back to bed. I'm starved and I'm still tired!" Lucy exclaimed as she put dinner on the table.

"Lucy, how far along are you? You can't be much more than twelve weeks." Greg asked through a mouthful of potato.

"Burke thinks maybe between sixteen and twenty weeks, give or take, maybe a couple of weeks more. It's a little hard to be any more precise because I never missed my period until this month and my stomach muscles kind of hold everything in, but he assures me everything is fine." Lucy answered. "He thinks we're looking at a due date in late February, early March. He wants to see me twice a month to monitor everything."

Greg stared thoughtfully at Lucy then he stood up and pulled her out of her chair.

"Greg!" Lucy screeched. "What the hell are you doing?" Greg had pulled her robe off and was lifting her nightgown over her head. He tossed both on the chair.

"Greg, this isn't funny!" Lucy hollered as she let loose with a string of cuss words while Greg began to examine her naked body with a clinical eye, running his hands all over her, paying attention to her boobs. Why not cop a feel?

"Is this supposed to be turning me on? I have to tell you it's not working, buster. I feel like a horse on the auction block! Are you going to check my teeth next? You need to work on your seduction technique!" Lucy yelled as Greg absentmindedly kissed her forehead.

"Lucy, just shut up." he said softly as he gently cupped her ass in his hands then looked her up and down. Then he saw it. Just the smallest bump in her lower abdomen. He put his hand over it gently.

"There's the linoleum lizard." he said with a crooked grin as he pulled Lucy against him for a long kiss.

"My baby isn't a lizard!" Lucy mumbled as Greg's lips claimed hers.

Finally, they came up for air and Lucy asked. "Can I put my pajamas back on now?"

Greg helped her get dressed and pulled her chair close to his like he used to do and they finished their meal.

As they got up to clean the table, Greg grabbed his leg and grimaced in pain.

"Greg!" Lucy exclaimed in a worried tone as she helped him back into his chair.

"It's just a cramp, baby. Don't get worked up. It's too damp outside today." Greg said through gritted teeth.

"Greg, you haven't been in this much pain since the first night we moved back in here. Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to call Foreman or Chase and have them bring over a muscle relaxer?" Lucy was almost beside herself, convinced this was a setback.

"No, Lucy. The heating pad will help." Greg replied as the cramp in his leg finally eased off thanks to Lucy's continuous massage.

"Greg, are you . . ." Lucy said before Greg cut her off.

"Baby, it's really okay. As much as I'd like to, I don't want to ask anyone to come out in this weather. Look outside."

About three inches of snow had fallen while they were asleep and it was still snowing heavily. Lucy's eyes went wide. She had to get to the cemetery tomorrow and build a snowman just like she, Uncle Tony and her father had always done after the first substantial snowfall of the year! If this kept up, Greg wouldn't let her go by herself and he wasn't in any shape to go anywhere!

She ran to the TV and turned The Weather Channel on. They were predicting up to six inches by the time the snow stopped in the morning.

"Greg, how am I going to build a snowman?" Lucy's eyes were wide with panic.

Lucy in a panic over a snowstorm? Greg was stunned. She had driven back and forth between Princeton & Philly during medical school in all kinds of weather! She only stayed in Philly when it was just too foolhardy to drive home.

Greg knew her mind was turning over every possible scenario on how to get away from him to accomplish her task. She would build that snowman if she had to flag down a snowplow to get to the cemetery!

"Lucy, we can't go anywhere now. The roads aren't cleared yet. We'll build the snowman tomorrow. The storm will have passed and the plows will probably be out all night. I promise I'll get you there. I haven't built a snowman in a long time. Please calm down." Greg said, thankful he would be able to do something for her, even if it was just getting her to the cemetery to build her snowman. After all she had done for him, it was the least he could do for her.

Still upset, Lucy helped Greg back to the bedroom and settled him in bed with the heating pad. As she turned to go back to the kitchen, Greg grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going, baby?" Greg asked. "Are you going to wait until I fall asleep and sneak out of here?"

By the way Lucy's arm tensed in his grip, he knew that was exactly what she had in mind.

"Lucy, if I have to hide all the car keys and lock you in a closet, you are not leaving this house tonight!" Greg exclaimed. "Wait until the roads are clear and it's safe to drive. Your father won't mind if you're a little late."

"May I please finish cleaning the kitchen, sir?" Lucy said, glaring at her husband.

"Ten minutes is all you get, baby." Greg said with mock sternness. "I want you back here in ten minutes. I'm cold and I need you to warm me up."

"You're not the boss of me. Cold my ass!" Lucy mumbled under her breath as she went back to the kitchen.

"I heard that Lucy and tonight I am the boss of you!" Greg said with a chuckle as Lucy headed back to finish cleaning up the dinner dishes.

Greg settled back with the heating pad. He dozed off as the pain finally eased off and woke up with a start about an hour later. Lucy wasn't in bed.

Greg got up swearing to himself as he looked for his cane and painfully made his way out of the bedroom.

"If she tried to get to the cemetery, so help me . . ." His words trailed off as he saw Lucy sitting in the dark in front of the TV still watching the news and weather reports. The room was warm even though Lucy had banked the fire, but she was wrapped in a blanket.

"Lucy, come back to bed." he said gently.

"They revised the forecast. We might get up to a foot by morning." Lucy said forlornly.

Greg sat on the couch and put his arm around Lucy.

"Baby, it'll be okay. I promise. We'll get there." As he tried to comfort Lucy, they heard a rumble outside.

"See, didn't I tell you the snow plows would be out all night?"

Lucy was focused on the news and wasn't listening to Greg.

Suddenly she said "Morons!"

"Lucy, what did I do?" Greg thought she was calling him a moron. He wasn't paying any attention to what Lucy was watching. She wasn't looking at him so he followed her gaze to the TV.

All of the local stations decided that they needed to report on the snowstorm on the spot. A little ice was mixing in with the snow, making the roads slick and the news trucks were impeding the progress of the snow plows and salt trucks.

Ironically, as one reporter was warning residents to stay off the roads for safety's sake until they had been plowed and salted, a truck from another station came sailing by, skidding out of control, making the first reporter and her camera crew scatter to safety and their station's truck being sideswiped before the other truck finally skidded sideways into a telephone pole. Fortunately the only casualties were the trucks and some of the equipment inside.

Now Lucy started giggling uncontrollably making Greg shake his head. An hour ago she was trying to figure out a way to get to the cemetery, now she was laughing at what was playing out on TV.

"Lucy, you were ready to try and sneak out of here after dinner and now you're laughing at that?" Greg was relieved that she was in a better mood now.

Lucy finally stopped laughing.

"Greg, when I was cleaning up the dinner dishes, I could hear the ice falling on the gutters. I really wasn't going to try and sneak out, and if I was, the ice would have changed my mind. You just pissed me off. Those idiots are risking their lives for what? We know it's snowing and they could tell us that from their studios!"

Greg chuckled. "Okay, baby, time to get back to bed." Greg hauled himself off the couch and Lucy put her arm around him as they slowly made their way back to bed.

Instead of sleeping with the heating pad, Lucy put Tiger Balm patches on Greg's leg before crawling back into bed, falling asleep in less than ten minutes and for once, didn't toss and turn and kick Greg in her sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**__** - Snowmen And Babies**_

Sunday morning, Greg woke up to an empty bed again.

"Damn it!" he said as he made his way to the bathroom. As he brushed his teeth, he noticed that Lucy's toothbrush was dry. How long ago did she wake up?

Greg slowly made his way out of the bedroom calling Lucy. She wasn't downstairs, but he smelled coffee. He made his way upstairs, but the kitchen was empty. Where was she?

Greg looked in the garage, and both their cars were still there, but he could see that half of the driveway had been cleared with the snow blower.

"She's pregnant! She shouldn't be doing that. George will be calling soon to tell us what time he'll be able to dig us out." Greg said angrily to himself.

As he called her name out again, he saw movement in the backyard out of the corner of his eye. Lucy was out in the snow, and she was putting the finishing touches on a snowman.

Greg decided he was married to a lunatic as he found his jacket and a pair of sweat pants and boots in the laundry room.

"Lucy, get back in the house now!" Greg practically bellowed as he went out in the yard.

"What did you say? Are you barking orders at me now?" Lucy yelled back at Greg. Obviously she had had at least one cup of coffee!

"Lucy, get in the house now!" Greg yelled again.

Lucy bent down and only then did Greg see the snowballs piled at his wife's feet.

Lucy was tossing one of her snowballs back and forth in her hands.

"What was that you said, Greg?" Lucy had the most wicked look on her face Greg had ever seen, but he wouldn't back down.

"Get in the house now or I'll take you over my . . ." Greg never finished his threat. Lucy threw her snowball and hit her target - Greg's chin.

That didn't stop Greg. He slowly advanced on Lucy as she kept throwing snowballs until he was about two feet away. Somehow, he managed to tackle her without hurting his leg and he rolled as they fell so she would be on top. Lucy squealed with delight.

"Is this snowman enough or do we have to go to the cemetery, too?" Greg said as he gave Lucy's ass a little squeeze.

"Nope. We still have to go to the cemetery. You said you wanted to build one too." Lucy said as she lowered her head to kiss Greg. Greg was the first to break the kiss.

"Come on. Let's get into some dry clothes and have breakfast. I don't want you to get sick."

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

"Party Pooper." she said as she got up and held her hand out to Greg to help him up. They dusted the snow off each other and went inside.

After they built their snowman, they went back home, got showers and spent the rest of the day being lazy.

Greg was insisting that Lucy at least ask her aunt for help cooking Thanksgiving dinner, but she refused.

"Greg, I'm pregnant, not an invalid. Dr. Burke didn't place any physical restrictions on me. This isn't the first time I've cooked a big dinner and it won't be the last." Lucy said.

"Baby, I want you to rest as much as possible." Greg tried again.

"Bullshit! You just want to baby me and I won't have it!" Lucy exclaimed. "I'm cooking and that's that! And you are going to help me decorate the trees Wednesday night if we have to stay up all night to do it!"

Greg just rolled his eyes and resigned himself to decorating trees after work Wednesday night. Surprisingly, the thought of Christmas wasn't as repulsive as he used to think it was!

As everyone gathered at their table to enjoy Lucy's Thanksgiving feast, Greg stood as he tapped his wine glass to get everyone's attention. His speech was totally out of character for him, but appropriate for the circumstances.

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone and welcome to our home. Lucy and I would like to thank you, our friends and family, for coming here today to share Thanksgiving with us. To say that this past year has been interesting is an understatement to say the least, but your love and support in helping us get through it has been greatly appreciated. I don't think I would be here now if it weren't for my lovely and long-suffering wife and her brother, who was smart enough to bring her home. Before this speech gets too long and boring and you start throwing things at me, I just have one more small announcement to make. With a little luck, Lucy is planning on making me a father sometime in February or March. Salute!" Greg said as he lifted his wine glass in the air.

Only then did everyone notice that Lucy was drinking milk, not wine.

Greg sat down with a smirk on his face as he watched everyone's reaction to their news. Aunt Loretta had tears in her eyes as she hugged Lucy. Lina and Frank were going to miss this. She and Tony would have to be surrogate grandparents. She announced to the guests that she had already chosen baby names.

"Aunt Loretta, let me get to the delivery room first before you tell Greg and I what the baby's name should be! I don't even know if it's a boy or girl and I don't want to know until it's born." Lucy exclaimed.

"Lucy, when's your next appointment?" Greg demanded. "I want to see the ultrasound, I want to know!"

"Greg House! You will not know if it's going to be a boy or a girl. Our parents didn't know, and I don't want to know either. If you try and pull my records to look, I'll leave town and not come back until after the baby's born!" Lucy said laughingly as she started eating dinner.

"Fine, be that way!" Greg grumbled as he dove into his heaping plate. "If it's a boy, I'm naming him Muddy Waters!"

"Over your dead body! You're not naming my baby after one of your moldy blues singers!" Lucy exclaimed as she threw a roll across the table and hit Greg square in the chin.

Everyone was laughing at the baby naming fight and Greg was thinking back to when his in-laws were alive and dinner time was just like this (Except for flying dinner rolls!). He was hoping the tradition would carry on with their baby.

Lucy and Greg kept to themselves on Christmas Eve, sitting in front of the fireplace and talking about the future. They had agreed on not exchanging presents this year. Greg said his present was becoming a father.


	17. Chapter 17

_**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**__** - Confrontations And Twins**_

All of the hospitals in the Princeton area provided free medical care in their clinics and every February, they all worked together to have a formal fund raising dinner. These were affairs that Greg had always gone out of his way to avoid and Lucy wasn't going to push him about going.

Granted, he had gone to a few when she had first met him, but schmoozing wasn't one of his favorite things to do, so Lucy didn't talk about it much other than to mention it over dinner one night. Lucy had been toying with the idea of just going with her brother, but it wasn't all that appealing. She preferred to spend the evening in front of the fireplace.

Her pregnancy had really started to show right after Christmas, but you would still never guess that she was almost eight months gone, but her back let her know. Greg was giving her back rubs every night.

About two weeks before the event, Jim was at the house for dinner and out of the blue, Greg announced they were going to the fund raiser. Lucy stared at him.

"You just want to rub Cuddy's nose in it, don't you?" Lucy said as she rubbed her lower back.

"Lucy." Jim decided to intervene before a fight broke out. "So what if he wants to rub her nose in it. I haven't mentioned you're pregnant and all she does is ask me if you two are still together. She screwed up big time in more ways than one and she knows it. I thought I would rent a limo for the evening and you, House, Tony and Liza and I could all go together."

"Jim, aren't you bringing a date?" Lucy questioned her brother.

Lucy was still waiting for him to find that special someone so he could be as happy as she and Greg were, but she wouldn't turn into her aunt, arranging dates for him.

"Lucy, let him be. You sound like Loretta." Greg said, even though he wanted to fix his brother-in-law up with someone himself. "Go buy yourself a new dress and we'll all have a good time."

"Bite me!" was all Lucy said.

Greg studied his wife thoughtfully. Lucy had become awfully testy in the past few days, even for her. He wondered if Burke had made a mistake in calculating her due date. He'd ask the next time he saw him. He had a hunch he was going to be a father sooner than he expected.

The dinner was scheduled for the Saturday after Valentines Day. Lucy had bought a new dress, but she woke up in a bad mood and decided she didn't want to go after all.

Greg spent most of the day convincing her to go, even saying he would go without her and give Cuddy the satisfaction of seeing him alone. Lucy glared at him and agreed to go.

Just to be ornery (this is Lucy, after all), she took her good old time getting ready, making everyone wait for her in the kitchen.

After hearing "bite me!" about a half dozen times when Greg hollered up the stairs asking if she was ready, Lucy finally walked into the kitchen.

Greg had been chewing on an unlit cigar and almost bit down on it when his wife walked into the room.

Lucy had pulled her hair high on her head and fastened it with a clear rubber band and scattered gold pins through her hair. Because she had pulled her hair up so high, some of the curls escaped, framing her face. An amethyst satin evening gown with an empire waistline and one shoulder strap graced her body.

She was carrying a heavy antique ivory silk shawl that had belonged to her Nonna Russo, then her mother, now her. On her feet were ivory satin peep toe pumps and there was matching evening bag in Lucy's hand. She was a vision and when she walked, the dress moved with her and you caught the outline of her belly.

She walked over to Greg and handed him her mother's diamond bracelet.

"Would help me with this, please?" she asked, much in the same way she had asked him to put on the necklace he gave her when she graduated from medical school.

As Greg closed the clasp on the bracelet, he made a comment to Lucy and those in the room in general.

"Baby you look beautiful. You're going to be the most beautiful woman at that stupid dinner."

He took her hand and kissed. Liza thought it was a very romantic gesture. Lucy was beaming. Tony and Jim just rolled their eyes.

"Thank you, Stretch, but who was that you've been calling "fat ass" all week?" Lucy said with an impish grin.

"House!" exclaimed Jim with mock sternness. "How can you call Lucy fat? She's just . . .plump."

Lucy giggled as she watched her brother search for words to describe her that wouldn't light her fuse.

"Nice save, big brother."

"That was foreplay, baby." Greg said as he gave Lucy a kiss on the mouth.

Lucy cut the kiss short. The taste of Greg's cigar and drink bothered her for some reason.

"Your technique needs improvement. Let's go, I'm starved!" Lucy declared as she led the way to the limo Jim had hired for the evening.

As they walked into the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency, Cuddy caught sight of Lucy entering with a crowd of people and smirked because she was alone. The smirk soon disappeared when the crowd cleared and House had caught up to her, taking her arm in his. Then she noticed something else.

While still using a cane, House's limp was not as pronounced as it used to be. He looked rested and _**healthy**_. And Lucy was pregnant. Damn Wilson anyway! He sandbagged her! Why hadn't he told her? He had done nothing but rub her nose in House's success since he left PPTH.

Cuddy was seated with House's team and unfortunate enough to have a fairly clear view of Greg and Lucy's table and couldn't even enjoy her dinner. How could she? Every time she looked in their direction, Lucy was stealing food from Greg's plate and all he did was smile when she slapped his hand away when he tried to do the same with her. He had never behaved like that with her, never been openly affectionate.

Foreman, Chase and Taub all noticed Cuddy's annoyed looks and it was all they could do to keep straight faces.

After dinner, Greg actually danced with Lucy, enjoying the sensation of the baby kicking him as he held his her as close as he possibly could. Well, he wasn't waltzing Lucy around the room like he used to. They were only moving around a small area of the dance floor, but Lucy's eyes were shining with delight. It was more than enough for her that Greg was at this function all. To have him dance with her was so much more than she could or would have asked for.

Most of the people there who knew House were not only stunned to see him at the fund raiser actually looking happy and sober, but seeing him dance with his wife was not to be believed. A happy House was nearly unfathomable and everyone there was taking pictures with their phones. They wanted incontrovertible evidence that it actually happened!

When the song was over, Lucy started socializing with people she hadn't seen since before she left Princeton, leaving Greg at the bar.

Dr. Nolan was there, but Greg wasn't worried that Lucy would say anything about his little "slip" last Thanksgiving as he came over to offer his congratulations on the baby.

Greg, Jim and Tony stayed at the bar shooting the breeze as people came over to congratulate Greg on his success and impending fatherhood.

Jim was amused that Greg's eyes rarely left his wife, even while he was making fun of nearly everyone in the room in his own Houseian way. He had given House so much bad advice since Lucy left, he was overjoyed that he finally made the right move. He should have done it sooner. His brother-in-law was a changed man in many ways, although his core personality remained in tact. House and his sister fit together like a hand in a glove, alike in so many ways, yet with enough differences to spice things up.

As the dinner wound down and the crowd began to dwindle, Cuddy decided to go over and talk to Lucy.

Lucy turned at the tap on her shoulder to see Lisa Cuddy standing there. Cuddy must be a lousy poker player because Lucy could read every emotion on her face. Anger, annoyance, frustration, regret, envy, all directed at her, it seemed.

"Dr. Cuddy." Lucy said with a smile as she held out her hand. "What a pleasure to see you again!"

Cuddy had temporarily backed herself into a corner because Lucy was still talking to a couple that had been close friends with her parents, and she couldn't say what she wanted to.

Cuddy took in Lucy's diamond bracelet, matching earrings and necklace and felt a pang of jealousy, not realizing they had belonged to Lucy's mother. House had never given her anything, only a bottle of sedatives with a red ribbon tied around the neck, just in case she wanted to shut her mother up again. After a few minutes, the people Lucy was talking to said their goodbyes and left.

Now Cuddy was alone with her nightmare, but she had lost some of her steam.

Across the room, Greg saw Cuddy with his wife and started to get angry. Tony grabbed his arm.

"Greg, Lucy can handle her. Take it easy. She won't make a scene." Tony said calmly as he waved to the bartender and asked for a glass of ginger ale.

"Here, take this over to Lucy and just follow her lead. We'll be right behind you."

House crossed the ballroom faster than Tony or Jim thought he could.

"Hey baby." Greg said as he rudely placed himself between Lucy and Cuddy.

He put his arm around her while he gave her the ginger ale. "Thought you might be thirsty."

He kissed Lucy and felt the baby kick before he turned to face Cuddy for the first time since he quit PPTH.

"Cuddy, how have you been? How's Rachel doing?" Greg asked with just the slightest touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Cuddy glared at him, angry at his open displays of affection toward his wife all evening long. Because of her folly, they were now equals instead of her having the boss upper hand. She thought she had gotten over losing the Dean's position and the power it entailed, but now she realized she would never get over that or House for that matter.

It annoyed her to no end that House looked genuinely happy and content. She had never expected him to be capable of those feelings.

"Fine, House. I see life is treating you well for now. How will it be once your baby is born? How much Vicodin will you need to handle it? Or will you be on anti depressants?" Cuddy couldn't resist sinking a spur into House and Lucy.

Lucy glared at Cuddy and tried to throw her drink in her face, but Greg stopped her without spilling a drop and put the glass on a table, out of Lucy's reach.

Cuddy took a step back, but had a smirk on her face.

"How dare you?" Lucy hissed. By this time, Tony, Liza and Jim had come up behind Lucy and heard Cuddy's remark.

"Careful, Cuddy." Wilson warned.

"Well, what should I say, Wilson?" Cuddy said as she glared at the man who not so long ago been her subordinate.

"Should I be a hypocrite and say "Congratulations"?" House pretty much went out of his way not to be part of Rachel's life even though he insisted that I was wrong in not bringing him home to meet her. They didn't get close until almost the very end and now I have a little girl who doesn't understand why House doesn't watch cartoons or play with her anymore and here he is ready to be a father!" Cuddy said through gritted teeth.

"Dr. Cuddy." Lucy said in a very calm voice that surprised no one but Cuddy. She had been hoping Lucy would make a scene. She didn't know Lucy. The attempt to toss her drink in Cuddy's face was an aberration, most likely brought on by exhaustion.

"If you want to blame anyone for Greg's absence in your daughter's life, look in the mirror. From everything I've heard from Greg, my family and his team, you had him tying himself in knots and jumping through hoops trying to please you. If you had truly loved him, you would have accepted him for the man he is instead of holding him to some impossible standard of yours. He might not have let you down when you were sick and took Vicodin so he could be there for you. Greg is far from perfect, and he freely admits it, but you pushed him beyond his limits, to the point where he was perfectly willing to be less of a doctor in order to take what little happiness he could have with you. How that could have been acceptable to you I'll never know, but I hold you responsible for his Vicodin slip and the bender afterward. He could have died."

Lucy hadn't raised her voice one little bit or made any aggressive moves through her entire speech, but Cuddy was starting to take her seriously, considering that House would not let go of Lucy's arm even though he had taken her drink away.

"Cuddy, listen to me." House said in as gentle a tone as he could muster. "I am genuinely happy for the first time since Lucy left me ten years ago. By sheer luck, she still loves me and came home to make me as healthy an individual as I can be. That means physically and mentally. I was ready to be a father before she left me and I most certainly am now. Want to know why we would have never worked?"

Now Cuddy was ready to start a scene herself. "No, House, tell me why we would have never worked." she snarked.

"Lucy's always had my back, even when I first met her. She believes in me and I can be myself with her. It hasn't been a bed of roses for us this past year because of because of my addiction and pain issues, and it will always be that way, but I know she'll be there to help me through it. She already figured what I needed before she saw me in the hospital after I went on that bender. You always turned a blind eye and deaf ear to me when I wanted to talk about us or when I was in more pain than usual. You couldn't be bothered. It was easier for you to remind me that I was lucky to be employed at all, that I was too much trouble for any hospital. Lucy doesn't do that, she has this unwavering belief in me that I don't deserve after what I did to her. I did warn you we would end badly, but you wouldn't listen. You should have. For that, I am sorry. I should have listened to my instincts instead of trying to recreate what Lucy and I had in the past. I should have never let her get away from me." Greg said.

"Oh, and by the way, you are a hypocrite, so congratulating us would have been the appropriate thing to do instead of trying to provoke my wife into a fight, which, by the way, you would lose hands down, even if she is pregnant." Greg couldn't resist being snarky himself now.

Cuddy had the good grace to look guilty, but she wasn't throwing in the towel just yet. She turned to Lucy.

"You do realize that half of his pain is emotional, don't you?" she snarked.

Lucy had managed to work herself free of Greg's grip and put her arm around him.

"Yes, Dr. Cuddy, I know that. I told him that when I walked into his hospital room. But unlike you, I listen to him when the pain gets worse. I listen to him, period. I always did. You'd be surprised how far a little TLC goes with him." Lucy said as she tightened her grip around Greg's waist.

"You _**always**_ listen to him?" Cuddy said sarcastically. "That's a full time job in itself. How ever do you manage him and your job and find time for yourself?"

"Yes, Dr. Cuddy. I always listen to him and I don't withhold sex to get my way." Lucy said with a smirk as she sunk her own spur into Cuddy.

Cuddy turned beet red with embarrassment as Lucy continued.

"Does Greg look like I've neglected him? Do I look neglected for that matter? We're both learning ways to manage his pain, something you didn't bother with. Your preference seemed to be to just ignore the whole thing as if you didn't even play a part in the surgery he had." Lucy replied in a voice that didn't betray her anger or exhaustion.

"The one time I didn't listen to him cost us both dearly. But I've grown up since then. I will be there when Greg needs me, no matter what it is, and I will do whatever I need to do to make sure Vicodin stays out of our lives for good, and he will do the best he can to be there for me if necessary. It's all part of the give and take of a relationship. Apparently, you're not willing to work at that. You wouldn't even call him "Greg", you called him "House" throughout your entire relationship. It's your way or the highway, right?"

Cuddy took a half step toward Lucy.

It had been a long evening for Lucy, and she was exhausted. She had put her arm around Greg so she could stand up straight. She was about ready to collapse. The baby had been kicking up a storm all night and Greg was pretty much holding her up. Sheer determination on Lucy's part was the rest of what was holding her upright, but when Cuddy stepped closer, she stiffened, ready for a fight.

Greg saw all this and quickly decided to call it a night for everyone.

"Cuddy, if you'll excuse us, I'd like to take my wife home now. She needs her rest. Wilson, call that damn limo!" House ended his speech with a smirk.

Jim was a few steps ahead of his brother-in-law. "The limo's waiting for us outside, House. We're ready."

And the five of them left Cuddy standing alone in the middle of the ballroom, Lucy and Greg's words ringing in her ears. What ever she had hoped to accomplish blew up in her face. She turned to see Foreman, Chase and Taub leaning against the bar, grinning at her as they all held their glasses up in a sardonic salute. No comfort there.

She was alone and angry at the truths Lucy had so calmly thrown in her face. She really did screw things up with House with her insane idea of what he needed to be for her. Maybe that's why she screwed up every relationship she ever had. She wasn't flexible enough to do the give and take Lucy mentioned. Could she change now? House seemed to, or had he?

"How could he have changed so much in such a short time?" Cuddy wondered to herself as she waited for her car to be brought car around. Then it dawned on her. The House she saw tonight was the real one. Certainly still self-centered and selfish. Snarky? Definitely, but nonetheless a human being capable of emotion. Lucy apparently had a gift when it came to House from the first day she met him. Lucy was opinionated and used to getting her own way, just like House, maybe more so, but she brought out the best in him where she hadn't been able to. Lucy was a natural nurturer.

Life as House's wife wasn't going to be easy, but Lucy would make it work. She would bend, but she wouldn't break. Lisa Cuddy had finally met the real Greg House, and she felt a pang of grief over what might have been. Only now did she fully realize the extent of her own folly and selfishness.

In the limo, Greg had pulled Lucy's legs into his lap and started massaging them for her. She leaned back against her brother and smiled happily.

"Lucy, can't you two wait until you get home to start your foreplay in private? I really don't want to be involved in it!" Jim said jokingly as she leaned further into his shoulder. He had noticed her testiness lately as well and was glad she didn't go off on Cuddy like she deserved, but he would have enjoyed it if she had!

"Leave the old goat alone, Jim. He needs a warm up!" Lucy said as Greg massaged further up her legs. She was hoping he would find out she was wearing thigh high stockings, but he disappointed her, stopping at her knees. Lucy sat up in the seat and snuggled against her husband.

"What do you mean, warm up, little girl?" Greg said with a chuckle as he pulled Lucy close.

"You heard me, you dirty old goat!" Lucy said as she made little bleating sounds like a goat.

In the opposite seat, Tony and Liza just shook their heads. Lucy and Greg were as demonstrative as they ever were, maybe more so, and they were happy that Greg's problems were getting behind him and he was happy again.

"Lucy." Greg asked as he put his arm around her. "Why didn't you rip Cuddy a new one? I'm disappointed."

"It wouldn't have served any purpose, Greg. I actually feel sorry for her. Cuddy came to this dinner tonight hoping to see only one of us, most likely me. That would mean I "failed" because I couldn't get you to that dinner by hook or by crook, proving she was right about you. She's completely convinced you're too selfish to look beyond your own needs and wants. To see us together, you happy and me pregnant had to cut her very deeply." Lucy said simply

By this time, they were home, and everyone went inside. As soon as Lucy got into the kitchen, she took her shoes off. Greg was taking out a cigar and started to light it.

"If you want to smoke that thing, go out on the patio." Lucy declared as she went upstairs to get ready for bed.

"You mean I can't smoke in my own home? It's cold out there!" Greg said with one of his crooked smiles.

"Unless you plan on sleeping at Jim's place tonight, I suggest the three of you go out on the patio to smoke!" Lucy said with a smile.

Greg's cigars had never bothered her before, but for some reason, tonight was different. She was feeling a little "off" and she didn't know why.

Liza followed Lucy upstairs and helped her get undressed.

Liza started laughing as Lucy stripped down to bra and panties. She was wearing thigh-high stockings.

"Lucy, if Greg had realized you had those stockings on in the limo, I think he would have thrown us out right then and there!" she said as she helped Lucy get the pins out of her hair and put her jewelry away.

Lucy giggled.

"I'm not so sure about that, Liza. He's never asked me to wear any type of lingerie, ever. He claims all it would do is get in his way. The only time I did wear lingerie was on our wedding night when we eloped. Oh, and I dressed up like Marilyn Monroe for his birthday one time. Almost forgot that!" Lucy smiled at that memory from early in their relationship.

Liza hung Lucy's dress up for her as she went to take a quick shower. When she came out, Liza had made herself comfortable on the couch and had found a movie to watch. They started to talk about the baby and went over everything Lucy had ready and planned a shopping for the following Saturday to get the necessary odds and ends.

Greg came into the bedroom taking his tie off. He took in the scene before him. Liza with her feet up on the couch and Lucy already in bed, looking deliciously sexy in her cotton nightie.

"Liza, I don't want to be rude, but get the hell out of here so I can jump my wife." Greg said as he leered at Lucy, causing Liza to laugh. Greg was like a horny teenager around Lucy.

"Not until you brush your teeth, Greg!"

Again, for no reason, Lucy just couldn't stand the thought of tasting the remnants of his cigar and what he drank tonight. It had never bothered her before, but tonight it did.

Greg just stared at her and headed to the bathroom. He was back out in the bedroom five seconds later with Lucy's wet thigh highs in his hand.

"What's this?" he demanded, waving the wet stockings in the air. "You had these on all night and didn't tell me? I could have taken you into a closet and had some fun!"

"If you don't hang those stockings back up to dry, you're never getting any again!" Lucy exclaimed as she got out of bed to walk Liza downstairs.

Greg was coming out of the shower when Lucy got back upstairs. She walked over to him and kissed him while she dropped his towel on the floor. Then she stepped back and took her nightie off without his help.

"I see we're a horny little monkey tonight." Greg whispered against her neck as he pressed his growing erection against her and pushed her toward the bed.

Lucy let out a contented sigh as his lips worked their way down her body, nipping and sucking all the way. When he got to the rounded little belly, he stroked it with both hands as he kissed it. Finally, he reached his goal and settled his face between Lucy's legs, almost making her scream with ecstasy with what his fingers and tongue were doing. As she came, she arched her back and moaned. Greg chuckled as he rode out her orgasm. She was still relatively quiet in bed.

Lucy pushed away from Greg and rolled him on his back. He was rock hard and ready to go as Lucy impaled herself on his length and started riding him, slowly at first, then picking up the pace as she began to build toward another orgasm.

Lucy leaned forward so Greg could suck her nipples. Greg began pushing his hips up and they found their rhythm. Lucy was so close to the edge again.

"Fuck me, Greg! Harder!" Lucy mumbled as his finger found its way to her clit, stroking it gently. Greg obliged as he bucked his hips harder, making Lucy moan as her walls clenched tightly around Greg's cock as she went over the edge again. Greg couldn't hold back and quickly followed her.

Lucy collapsed on Greg as they both tried to catch their breath. As Greg went soft, Lucy rolled off to her side and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you." she mumbled against his chest as exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep.

Greg watched his sleeping wife and thought of how drastically and for the better everything had changed for him since Lucy came back from Florida. Getting married again almost immediately after she came home, new jobs and success for them, and now a baby.

They had settled into their lives again as if they never divorced. Arguing, loving, arguing and loving some more. It was who they were. His only regrets were hurting Lucy and the time they lost together, and of course the Vicodin slip at Thanksgiving.

Now that Greg thought about it, even though Lucy's pregnancy was only confirmed before Thanksgiving, he realized how tough a time she had had because of her low blood pressure. He couldn't even begin to imagine how tired she must be.

Once he found out she was pregnant, he wouldn't let her go with his team to search patient's homes anymore and she had nearly bitten his head off, but he refused to let her take risks, even if it meant a shouting match. He wanted this baby as much as Lucy did.

Greg felt a small kick against his stomach. Slowly so he wouldn't wake Lucy up, he gently rolled her on her back and put his hand on her belly. There it was again! The life they had created.

The kicking wasn't anything new, but Greg still marveled over it every time it happened and how Lucy's body had changed. How could she sleep through this? He looked at her as her eyes opened part way.

"What are you doing? I'm cold!" she mumbled. She tried to get close to him again, but he wouldn't take his hand off her belly.

"I'm watching you sleep, monkey." he said softly as he kissed her forehead. The baby had been very active tonight, but it seemed to have settled down with his hand on Lucy's belly (They still didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. Lucy stood firm on that respect and the baby was curled up too tightly to see much of anything that would give away its sex, but Burke assured them everything was fine.).

"No you're not." Lucy mumbled again as she realized what Greg was doing.

"Isn't it bad enough you kick me in your sleep half the time, now you have my spawn doing it too?" Greg said with a smile.

"Bite me." Lucy mumbled for the last time as she turned on her side and immediately fell asleep. Greg pressed up behind her, his right hand pressed protectively on her belly.

Four days later at work, Lucy fainted in the middle of a DDX. Foreman, Chase and Taub acted like chickens with their heads cut off, but Greg stayed calm. Burke was in the hospital today and Lucy had an appointment. It was about to be moved up a bit.

Lucy had come to, but Greg commandeered a gurney and over her swearing protests that she was quite capable of walking, with Chase's help, managed to pick her up, put her on the gurney and wheeled her into Burke's office.

Lucy cussed Greg out the entire way, and still hadn't finished with him as she was immediately hooked to a fetal monitor.

Dr. Burke had a very perplexed look on his face as he did the ultrasound. Lucy and Greg both caught the look and said in unison, "What's wrong?"

Lucy's heart was in her mouth now. She had come so far this time, she didn't know what she would do if anything happened to this baby. There might never be another chance for her.

Dr. Burke looked at them, upset that his facial expression had betrayed him.

"Take it easy, Lucy. I think I'm delivering these babies in the next forty eight hours.

"You can't! It's too soon! I'm barely eight months!" Lucy cried. Greg held his wife tightly.

"What do you mean "babies"?" Lucy went silent

"Lucy, you're having twins. I should have seen it before. They've shifted position since your last visit. Dr. Burke turned the monitor so Lucy and Greg could see.

There they were. Two little lives spooned up against each other. Until now, one baby had been in front of the other, and their hearts were beating in unison, so all Burke could detect, even with the ultrasound, was one strong heart beat. Even now that they had shifted, their hearts were still beating in unison.

"Lucy." Burke said in his soothing voice. "I have to deliver these babies as soon as possible. Your blood pressure should be through the roof with what I just told you, and you're barely holding 110 over 70. I see a fibroid much too close to your cervix and I really can't tell how big it is either. You're having very mild contractions and could start hemorrhaging."

Lucy kept shaking her head. "It's too soon, it's too soon." She buried her face against Greg's chest. He hadn't spoken since he heard the word "twins" come out of Burke's mouth.

"Lucy, please take my word for it. We have to do this now. The babies might have to be in the NICU for a few days, but they're developed enough. If you hadn't fainted today, I would have delivered these babies at the beginning of next week. I wouldn't deliver them if they were in danger. I would put you on bed rest."

"I'm not ready for two babies!" Lucy cried into Greg's shirt. This was one of the few times in her life she was completely freaked out.

"Lucy, right now, you need to calm down. I want you to go home and take it easy until you come back Friday morning. Although it's pretty small, if you don't take it easy and get off your feet, there's a real risk of you starting to hemorrhage when the babies move." Burke said.

"But I'm not ready for two babies! I need to go shopping!" Lucy was frantic as Greg kept rubbing her back, hoping she would calm down. Somewhere in that intelligent mind of hers, she knew she needed to be off her feet, but her fears that something would go wrong were overtaking her common sense, just as they did the night the condom broke way back in the beginning of their relationship and she was convinced she was pregnant.

Burke just shook his head. "Lucy, just go home and call your aunt. Knowing her, she can get everything ready for you by tomorrow afternoon. Be back here Friday morning at eight and we'll be ready for you. Go home and put your feet up." Burke said with a huge grin on his face as he called his assistant to schedule an OR and a private room.

Tightly holding his wife around her waist, Greg and Lucy made their way back to their offices. Lucy hadn't said a word since they left Burke's office, but Greg's swagger had returned with a vengeance. Twins! Damn, his boys were good swimmers! Not bad for a horny old goat!

Foreman, Chase and Taub were waiting anxiously for them to return. One look at Lucy and they were concerned, but Greg immediately told them they were on their own for a few days, that Lucy was having twins.

"Don't bother me unless the patient is dying." Greg told them as he packed his backpack and Lucy's briefcase. "Show me how smart you are." was Greg's parting remark as he led his wife out of the hospital.


	18. Chapter 18

_**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN **__**- Just Listen To Your Brother For A Change**_

Over at Princeton Plainsboro, Jim's private line started ringing. A glance at the Caller ID showed his brother-in-law's number. He nearly had a stroke when Greg told him what was happening and quickly packed his briefcase while telling his assistant to cancel all of his appointments until Monday afternoon.

As Jim was getting ready to run out the door, Cuddy decided to drop in. She had been giving it a lot of thought since the dinner and she knew it was time to leave Princeton. She had decided to go back to Michigan and accept a teaching position. She had her letter of resignation in her hand.

Cuddy was willing to help look for her replacement if the Board would allow it, but she wanted to leave Princeton as soon as possible.

Wilson was giving his very capable assistant last minute instructions about his schedule and she was taking notes on what needed to be done.

"Wilson, I need to talk to you now. It's important." Cuddy said as she tried to block his exit. He effectively sidestepped her, forcing her to try and follow him out of his office.

"Cuddy, can it wait until Monday? House just called. Lucy's having twins and they're being delivered on Friday! I have to go now!" Jim said as he hurried through the lobby.

"Wilson, what are you talking about? Your sister barely looks pregnant! Is everything all right?" Cuddy didn't take losing gracefully, but she didn't wish Lucy any harm. Did he say twins? House would be even more insufferable now!

"I think she's all right, but whatever you have on your mind will have to wait until Monday!" Jim said as he ran out of the hospital.

Jim pulled into the driveway at the same time his aunt and uncle did. Liza was already there. To Jim's surprise, his sister was at the kitchen table, going over a list of baby things with Liza.

Liza was trying to talk her into staying home and Lucy was going on like she never heard her.

Of course Jim thought his little sister should be in bed to be safe even though he hadn't been told all of the details!

"Lucy, what the hell is going on here!" Jim practically bellowed as he came into the kitchen. "Why the hell aren't you in bed?"

To her credit, Lucy stayed as calm as possible under the circumstances.

"Jim, I'm not ready for twins. Liza and I are going shopping as soon as we finish this list."

Greg hadn't said a word about Lucy going shopping. He didn't think she needed to be in bed, but he didn't want her out and about either. He wanted her on the couch, taking care of herself. He was hoping Lucy's logical mind would tell her she shouldn't do this, but so far, she was intent on going out with Liza.

Unlike her brother however, he had long known when to keep his mouth shut in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, he couldn't give her a sedative because she was pregnant, and she would make him miserable when she woke up anyway, even though she would know it was for her own good.

"Lucy, what if something happens while you're out shopping?" Jim said as he stood in the middle of the kitchen with his hands on his hips. He still didn't know any details, but he was correctly assuming the need to deliver early had something to do with her endometriosis.

Aunt Loretta and Uncle Tony were just standing there, trying not to laugh at Jim's over reaction to everything. They didn't know any details themselves, but Greg seemed to be calm, even in the face of Jim's little fit and Lucy's stubborn insistence on going shopping. They wouldn't learn anything until Jim was through!

"House, those are your babies, too! Why aren't you making Lucy get in bed?" Jim's face was as red as a tomato now.

"Wilson, calm down before you have a stroke!" Greg said with a chuckle.

"Well, why the hell is Burke delivering so soon then?" Jim was beside himself with anger and frustration.

"Burke saw a fibroid that could cause some problems if we wait. It's early, but the babies can be delivered safely. Lucy and the babies aren't in any immediate danger. She's not even spotting. I would prefer she didn't go anywhere either, but I think she'll be fine. Would you like me to tie her to that chair to make sure she doesn't leave?"

"Nothing will happen, Jim. You heard Greg. I'm not even spotting." Lucy said as she stood up, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice.

"Lucy, if you husband won't do it, I will! I will not let you leave this house until it's time for you to go back to the hospital, even if it means I have to carry you upstairs myself and lock you in your room!" Jim stood in front of his sister, ready to block her way if necessary.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Jim? You can't tell me what to do!" Lucy took a step toward her brother, ready to fight.

"Lucy, you're not leaving this house and that's that!" Jim declared. He knew Lucy wouldn't think twice about throwing a punch at him, but he stood his ground.

Lucy looked around. No help. She turned and went upstairs before anyone could try to talk to her. They heard a door slam.

"Nice move, Jimmy Boy." Greg said. "I had to calm her down in Burke's office and you destroyed all my hard work."

Liza looked at Jim, shaking her head.

"Jim, you're an ass. Lucy and I had a shopping trip planned for Saturday anyway. She doesn't have an outfit to bring one baby home from the hospital, let alone two. I was trying to talk her into letting me take care of this. I was making a little headway until you blew in here!"

Liza turned on her heel and went up to check on Lucy.

"Jim." Tony asked his nephew. "Help me bring in the other cradle."

Uncle Tony was referring to the second handmade cradle that his grandfather had made years ago and had been passed around both sides of the family for years. He had brought the other one over right after Christmas. Lucy's babies were going to be the last ones to use them until that generation grew up and started their own families.

When Liza got upstairs, she found Lucy in what had been Greg's bedroom when he moved into the house. For now, it would be a nursery and in a month or so, and Lucy had planned to move the baby down the hall into the other wing of the house. Now there were two babies coming home.

Since Lucy had refused to find out whether she was having a boy or girl, the color scheme was yellow.

Lucy was sitting on the floor with a pad and pencil as if nothing had happened, finishing up the list she and Liza had started. She looked up at Liza as she walked into the room and gave her a small smile.

"We almost forgot we need another crib and changing table, another car seat and a double stroller and a bigger playpen. Oh, and another monitor, I think." Lucy said in her normal, calm voice as she kept writing. "Liza, what do you think I should get to bring the babies home in?"

"Lucy, sweetheart, just for once listen to Jim. You're so close now. Don't take any chances." Liza said as she sat down on the floor next to Lucy. Lucy glared at her.

"Lucy, he really does have your best interests at heart and Loretta and I can take care of what you need. Tony and Jim are bringing the other cradle into the family room. Let's get you into your room and finish this list." Liza said as she tried not to laugh at the expression on Lucy's face. God help Greg if one or both of these babies inherited her temper!

Lucy got to her feet and went across the hall just as Jim came up, intending to apologize to his sister. Lucy glared at her brother and pointedly closed the door to her bedroom.

"Lucy?" he called as he softly knocked on the door.

"Get out of here!" Lucy snapped.

Aunt Loretta was standing behind her nephew.

"Jim, just go downstairs and ask your uncle to come up here. He'll handle it. Lucy needs to stay calm right now."

Greg had given them more details after Lucy stormed out of the kitchen and told them about the fibroid Burke saw during the ultrasound, and he couldn't be sure if there were more or not. Most likely, there were.

Loretta was very worried, even though she always knew a C-section would be the way Lucy would give birth. Her nurse's training kicked in and she knew there were still risks involved.

As she walked into the bedroom, she found Lucy in the huge walk in closet trying to get a suitcase from the top shelf and Liza trying to stop her. She just walked over, took Lucy by the hand and led her out into the bedroom. Lucy's temper was barely under control and Loretta realized there wasn't much she would be able to do with her stubborn little niece. When Lucy was like this, only her father or Tony could deal with her. Loretta sat her down and waited for Tony to come upstairs.

In a few minutes, Tony came up and sat next to his niece. Lucy suddenly snapped and collapsed in a heap in her uncle's arms, crying almost hysterically that it wasn't fair to have gotten this far and have something go wrong now.

One more time, Tony cursed the drunk driver that killed his brother and sister-in-law while he held Lucy as she cried herself to sleep, murmuring that nothing would go wrong, that her parents were watching over and protecting her. So many things might not have happened if Frank and Lina were still alive.

As Liza packed the suitcase for Lucy, she packed clothes for Greg as well. She knew he would not leave Lucy's side whether things went smoothly or not. When she was finished, she put the suitcase in the corner.

Seeing Lucy asleep in her father-in-laws' arms, she got a couple of pillows and a blanket as Tony slid himself out from under her.

Together, Tony and Liza managed to get Lucy stretched out on the couch without completely waking her up. Liza covered her with the blanket and left the room with her father-in-law.

Down in the kitchen, Loretta had started lunch and was getting a tray ready to take up to Lucy. Tony told her not to bother, that she was sound asleep. Loretta shrugged her shoulders and put the food on the table.

Conversation was kept to a minimum as the five sitting around the table tried their best not to worry about Lucy. It was hard. No one in the family had ever thought she would ever have a baby, especially after she left Greg.

Greg was mostly silent through the meal, answering questions with only one or two words. His normal cockiness had disappeared again. For one of the few times in his life, he felt absolutely helpless. If anything happened to Lucy or the babies, he didn't know what would happen to him.

Even though his relapse had happened less than four months ago, he had come miles and miles in his recovery and ability to cope and communicate, but that was because of Lucy.

If, God forbid, something happened to Lucy, could he stay clean and raise their babies? Or worse yet, what would he do if something happened to the babies instead, or all three of them? His thigh was throbbing.

All to soon, Lucy's family left Greg alone in the big kitchen. He just sat there for about a half an hour before he realized he should go check on his wife.

As he slowly headed up to their bedroom, Greg acknowledged the increased pain in his leg that one more time ramped up because of an emotional crisis. He opened the bedroom door quietly and observed Lucy sound asleep, her face tear stained.

She had kicked the blanket off, so Greg covered her back up and went down to his man cave. He spent the better part of the afternoon either staring into space or playing one melancholy tune after another on his piano.

Around five, Lucy finally woke up. It was getting dark out and the house was eerily quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Lucy wondered out loud as she went into the bathroom to wash her face. She also checked to make sure she wasn't spotting. Taking off her wrinkled clothes, she put her nightgown and robe on to go see where everyone was.

Although her normal demeanor was returning, as Lucy walked through the house, she was getting nervous because she seemed to be the only sign of life around. She knew Greg wouldn't leave her alone now, but she had been thrown for one hell of a loop this morning, and reason had pretty much deserted her.

Finally, she heard piano music coming up from the basement and breathed a sigh of relief. Greg was playing "Vieni Su" now, quietly singing the song. It was the first song they had danced to.

_Vieni su, vieni su, vieni._

_Come along through the years with me._

_Can't you see how I adore you?_

_And how long I've waited for you._

_Vieni su, vieni su._

_Won't you say you love me too?_

(Dean Martin, Italian Love Songs)

Greg picked his head up when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Before he could get up, he saw Lucy coming into the room.

Walking over to her, he put his arms around her and said, "You should be in bed, baby." Lucy held him tight.

"I slept all day, and I'm starved now. Do you think I can make us dinner?" Lucy said, looking up at him, eyes still swollen from crying.

"Why don't we both make dinner? I'm hungry too." he said as he led her toward the kitchen.

"If there ever comes a day you aren't hungry, I'll start worrying." Lucy said with a little laugh.

They broiled chicken breasts and made salads. Like lunch, dinner was mostly silent, neither one wanting to voice their fears. The silence extended through to the end of the meal and cleaning up afterward. By that time, Lucy had more or less recovered the rest of her wits and spoke up.

"Greg, everything will be fine. By lunchtime Friday, we'll be a real family. You're really stuck now unless you decide to make a run for it. There's still time for you to get the hell out of Dodge!" Lucy said with her own version of Greg's lopsided grin on her face.

Greg House just took another step toward growing up.

"Lucy, I'm not going anywhere, and I don't need any crutches to get through this. I know you're in good hands and I can't wait meet these babies!"

Lucy grinned again and arm in arm, they made their way upstairs to bed.


	19. Chapter 19

_**CHAPTER NINETEEN**__** - Life Altering Changes**_

Five AM on Friday, February twenty fourth, 2012, came quickly, too quickly for Lucy. Thursday had been a whirl of activity in the house, and Greg made sure she stayed out of the way while Uncle Tony and Jim put the second crib and changing table together and Liza and Loretta got all the clothes and baby things washed and put away. Lucy pouted because no one would even let her put clothes away.

Greg put the car seats in their new SUV. Before they found out they were having twins, Lucy had decided that Greg would finally get rid of his old beater and drive the Impala she bought when she moved back to Princeton and they would get an SUV. Of course they argued about it because Greg was overly attached to that pile of metal for no logical reason at all that she could think of, but Lucy persevered.

It ran fine, but Greg's old Dodge had nothing beyond seatbelts in the way of safety features, and there was no way she would let him put their baby in it! For the life of her, Lucy couldn't imagine why he wouldn't let go of that old heap.

"Greg, it's an old car. Do you really think I would let you put this baby in it?" Lucy yelled as she put a protective hand on her stomach. "What reason on earth could you have for wanting to hang on to it?"

A very sheepish look came over Greg's face.

"Well, I'm waiting, Greg. Why won't you get rid of that car?" Lucy asked angrily. She caught the sheepish expression on his face and knew something completely silly was up. She was half right!

"Lucy, don't make me say it." Greg said as his gaze shifted to the floor.

"Gregory Michael House! Tell me why you won't get rid of that car!"

"Lucy, don't you remember we drove it down to Virginia when we eloped?"

"I remember you telling me not to drive like I was in The Indy 500 every time it was my turn to drive! Is Greg House being sentimental?" Lucy asked as she went to hug him.

"Lucy." Greg started to say something because he thought he had convinced her to let him keep the car.

"No, Greg, you still have to get rid of it. I love the fact that you really are a sentimental old goat, but it has to go. Get it detailed and take a picture. I'll pose on the hood if you want me to. Put it on the dresser upstairs."

"Will you pose naked?" Greg asked hopefully.

"Hell, no!"

They looked at different vehicles and settled on a black Equinox.

They arrived at the hospital by six. Lucy had already been checked in by Burke's assistant and she was in her private room waiting to prepped for surgery.

As Lucy was being wheeled to the OR, Greg stepped away to go scrub up so he could be in the delivery room. Lucy grabbed his hand in a sudden panic.

"Lucy, I have to go scrub or Burke won't let me in the OR." Greg said as he gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you in a few minutes, don't worry." Lucy visibly relaxed as they wheeled her into the OR.

Dr. Burke came in. "Well, let's have twins this morning, shall we?"

Lucy was already woozy from the shot they had given her to relax her, and she giggled.

"Can you hold off for a few minutes?" Lucy said. "I should call the father."

Burke chuckled.

Greg had come in and heard Lucy's wisecrack. He didn't respond, but you could see the grin behind his surgical mask. Lucy looked around the room as everyone got into place for her C-Section. A mirror was set in place behind Burke so Lucy could see her babies being born.

"God, you all look like a bunch of damn train robbers." Lucy mumbled as she took in all the masked faces. Burke made the initial incision and opened the uterus to deliver the babies. Greg was standing next to Burke and cut the umbilical cord before he handed off the first baby to a nurse.

"It's a boy, Lucy." Burke said as she saw Greg's eyes fill with joy. Soon the room was filled with the sound of a crying baby as the nurses quickly cleaned him up and brought him over for Lucy to hold. Her eyes were blurred with tears. Her son was tiny but apparently healthy, judging by his loud cries.

"Lucy, it's a girl!" Burke cried as he delivered the second baby. Lucy was overcome with joy and tears slid down her face. A boy and a girl! Now she heard the sound of two babies crying and she couldn't be happier.

Burke's surgical team was trained to work with hand and eye signals in emergency situations and he motioned to his anesthesiologist to put Lucy all the way under. Greg noticed and was at back at Burke's side before he could motion to him over, but nothing could have prepared Greg for what he saw.

Lucy's uterus was literally filled with fibroids. There were two near her cervix, not the just the one Burke saw on the ultrasound two days ago. They were at least three inches long.

Against all odds, Lucy didn't miscarry this time. Apparently, the babies acted as sort of a pressure bandage, preventing any hemorrhaging in the cramped space they were in.

Burke had to do a hysterectomy and fast. Lucy was hemorrhaging now and the two large fibroids were so ingrained that he would never be able to repair her uterus.

"Greg, I have to do a hysterectomy now." Burke whispered through his mask.

"Greg, what's wrong? Are the babies all right?" Lucy mumbled as she fought the anesthesia.

Greg quickly hurried to the head of the table. He hated what he had to tell her, but there was no other way around it.

"Lucy, the babies are fine. Burke has to do a hysterectomy. Don't fight the anesthesia. I'm right here." Greg whispered.

"Okay, Greg." Lucy mumbled as she went under.

Greg didn't believe his ears. What was going to happen when she woke up and learned what happened?

Burke worked quickly and efficiently. Once the uterus was removed, the bleeding stopped and he could see Lucy's ovaries didn't have to be removed as well; he just had to remove some scar tissue. Soon, she was on her way to recovery and Greg slowly headed to the waiting room where the family was, dreading what he had to tell them.

In the waiting room, Loretta was a bundle of nerves. She knew something was up because Greg should have been here at least a half an hour ago. If anything happened to Lucy or the babies, she didn't know what she would do.

Finally, she demanded that Jim go find out what was taking so long.

Jim was a nervous wreck himself. Loretta was making him feel more apprehensive than he already did. Greg walked in before he made it to the door.

In all the years he had known his brother-in-law, Jim had never seen him look like this, not even when he began his descent into his breakdown. His back stiffened as he prepared himself for the worst, but he asked the obvious question.

"Well, House, do I have nieces or nephews?"

Greg looked at Jim blankly for a moment and answered. "A boy and a girl."

Jim's face split into a grin, but Aunt Loretta cried out, "Greg, something's wrong! It's Lucy! Is she all right? Tell me, please!" She envisioned the worst.

"Lucy and the babies are fine. They took the babies to NICU as a precaution, but they're a couple of screamers. Oh, Lucy had to have a hysterectomy. She should be in Recovery now." Greg responded in a monotone.

Greg looked around the waiting room. Most of Lucy's aunts and uncles were there as well as a few cousins. Almost thirty people in all. Feeling overwhelmed by so much family, he turned away from them and headed back to his office. He had to call his mother.

Loretta sat down hard. Hysterectomy? Lina had had one, but Lucy was three when that happened. Lucy always knew a hysterectomy was a possibility, but had she been she coherent enough to realize it had to be done now?

Liza grabbed her purse and quickly followed Greg to his office, leaving the rest of the family to digest this news. She took a quick detour to the cafeteria and grabbed some sandwiches, chips and drinks.

As she was paying the cashier, Liza ran into Greg's minions and warned them away from the office for the time being, quickly explaining what had happened.

As she walked into Greg's office, she saw that he had taken the bottle out of his desk. Next to it sat his red coffee mug. It didn't look like he had taken a drink yet.

"Greg, don't do it." Liza said softly.

"Why not, Liza? She'll never forgive me. She'll take those babies and leave me for good." Greg said forlornly.

He had instantly fallen in love with his son and daughter the second they were removed from the womb, not that he didn't love them when all he saw were ultrasounds, but now they were here. He held them, heard them cry. Now his fear was that Lucy would take them and leave him again.

"Greg, Lucy won't leave you. Don't you know yet that she's never going anywhere without you? I know you're thinking about what happened when you had your infarction. This isn't quite the same thing." Liza said as she laid the food out for them on Greg's desk.

"Liza, how can you say that? Lucy wasn't coherent when I told her what was happening. Hysterectomy wasn't even on the table until this morning! As soon as she's able, she'll leave."

Greg's voice cracked when he spoke the word "leave".

"Don't be an ass, Greg!" Liza snorted as she took a bite of her sandwich and continued her rant.

"Lucy knew a hysterectomy might be in her future. I've never seen her look happier since you told us she was pregnant. You're a family now. For as long as I've been in this family, Lucy has had three things she wanted most out of life. She wanted to be a doctor, and she became a damn good one, and she wanted a husband and her own family. A husband and children were as important if not more so than becoming a doctor was to her. Why do you think I trusted my sons in the pool with her when they were small? Because I'm stupid or lazy? I knew she would make a good mother. You saw how protective she was of them back then and she still is. You're married to a Mama Bear who's going to lay her life down for you and those babies. I'll stake my life on the fact that Lucy not only won't leave you, she won't hold the surgery against you! Eat that damn sandwich! You must be starved by now!" Liza exclaimed.

Greg looked hard at Liza for a long time. She was right, he was starved, and he hoped against all hope she was right about Lucy.

"Better not be any pickles on this." Greg grumbled, biting into the cold Reuben as he turned his TV on, and they watched in companionable silence as they ate.

They were both startled by a knock on the open door. It was Burke's assistant, Sally. Greg's heart was in his mouth, but he covered his fears well.

"Dr. House, Lucy's in her room now. She should be fully awake in about ten or fifteen minutes or so. There's a nice comfortable recliner in the room so you can stay here overnight if you wish. Oh, and the biopsies were all benign"

Sally turned and left Greg and Liza as quietly as she approached them.

"That damn girl would make a good Navy Seal the way she sneaks up on people!" Greg snarked as he stood and stretched. Liza quickly cleaned up his desk and shooed him out to Lucy's room. Greg took his time, leaning on his cane. Part of him wanted to believe Liza, believe everything would be all right, but that little nagging fear in the back of his mind made him slow down.

Greg walked into Lucy's room as quietly as he was able, not wanting to wake her if she was still out. She was, but she was moving around like she was getting ready to wake up. Because they had given her a spinal block for the C-section, her bed was still flat.

Greg was trying to check her vitals when Lucy's eyes fluttered open.

"Greg?" Lucy's voice was little more than a croak.

"Right here, baby." Greg said softly as he lowered the railing and sat on the bed. "How do you feel now?"

Lucy was trying to move even though she knew she shouldn't just yet.

"Like I've been rode hard and put up wet." she mumbled as she realized a catheter was causing most of her discomfort.

"What did Burke use for a catheter? A garden hose?" she grumbled as she came fully awake.

"Lucy, don't move yet. You had a spinal block, remember?" Greg said, trying to hold her still.

"Well, page Burke here now so he can get this thing out before I do it myself!"

The Lucy Glare made Greg smile.

"How did the hysterectomy go?" Lucy asked after Greg had paged Dr. Burke.

"Lucy, I'm sorry. There was no time to make you understand. You were hemorrhaging too much." Greg was contrite, waiting for the roof to fall on his head.

"What the hell are you talking about, make me understand?" Lucy snapped.

"I might not have been able to string a sentence together, but my ears were working just fine, thank you very much!" Lucy was almost yelling now.

"Lucy, I did to you what Stacy did to me when I had my infarction. You have every right to be mad!" Greg was starting to think the anesthesia had done something to her.

"Greg, tell me what happened after our daughter was born." Lucy said impatiently.

"You started hemorrhaging. Your uterus was literally filled with fibroids. There were two large ones near your cervix that were so ingrained that even if Burke could stop the bleeding, he couldn't have saved the uterus. Because you were carrying twins, they sort of acted like a pressure bandage and kept you from miscarrying. You still have your ovaries. There was no other choice. All the biopsies came back negative. Except for the scar, you're fine." Greg said, waiting for the fireworks.

Lucy reached up and took Greg's hand.

"Don't beat yourself up, Stretch." she said softly, anger all gone.

"There's that nickname again. Stretch." Greg thought to himself. "When she calls me that, everything's okay." He began to hope.

"I knew somewhere down the line I might have to have a hysterectomy. You did what you had to do to save me. It sounds like there weren't that many options. I can't be angry at you or Burke or anyone. I have two more babies than I thought I'd ever be able to have. I have everything I ever wanted and I'm thankful. How many people can say that? The only thing missing are my parents. It's okay, really." Lucy said as she rubbed Greg's hand against her face.

Greg breathed a sigh of relief as Burke walked into the room, smiling broadly. It wasn't every day he delivered twins!

"I hear someone's complaining about her catheter." he said as he looked briefly at Lucy's chart.

"Catheter my ass!" Lucy snapped. "It's a frickin' garden hose! Please take it out before I do it myself! I want to go see my babies as soon as possible!"

"Calm down, Lucy." Burke said as he prepared to remove the catheter from his cranky patient.

As he drew the privacy curtain, Lucy yelled at her husband to get the hell out of the room.

Both men broke into laughter.

"Lucy, since when have you become shy around me?" Greg asked as soon as he stopped laughing. "It's not like I haven't seen anything there before!"

"Out!" Lucy was practically yelling now. "Go to NICU and see my babies!"

"Hey, they're mine too!" Greg said as he looked for Lucy's new iPhone. Maybe if she saw pictures, she'd settle down until she could get to the nursery herself.

Lucy smiled as he walked out of the room, sans cane.

When Greg came back fifteen minutes later, Burke was still in the room chatting with Lucy. Even though Lucy knew she shouldn't move for a while, he thought it was a good idea to stay until Greg came back. She was stubborn enough to try and get out of bed.

Lucy reached eagerly for the phone, but it was hard to look at the pictures while she was flat on her back. She was frustrated to the point of tears.

Burke took pity on Lucy. "Lucy, if you promise me you won't try to get out of bed until later tonight, I'll raise this bed a bit so you can see those pictures better."

Lucy brightened a little until he delivered his final ultimatum.

"You can go to NICU later as long as you don't have a headache, young lady."

Lucy scowled as Burke slowly raised the bed to an angle that let Lucy see the pictures better. Apparently, most of her family had gone to the NICU to see the babies. Jim had sent her pictures of everyone holding them, but her favorites were pictures of the babies in their beds, which were labeled "Baby Boy House" and "Baby Girl House". They were reaching toward each other, trying to hold hands, but her absolute favorite was one of Greg cradling both babies in his arms. That one would be definitely be framed. She already had a nice start on their baby albums. Lucy smiled and relaxed.

"I'll leave orders for the nurses to take you down to NICU later this evening if you're up to it." Burke said as he left the new parents to admire their babies's pictures.

Lucy's eyelids started to droop in spite of her efforts to stay awake. The recliner was placed next to the bed, so Greg took the phone from Lucy as she started to doze off. He got a blanket and got comfortable and found a movie to watch. When Wilson and the rest of the family came in to visit, Lucy and Greg were sound asleep, holding hands.

They slept through until morning when breakfast was served. Lucy begged Burke to let her take a shower before she went to NICU. She was very annoyed that she had slept through the night and her breasts ached like nothing she had ever experienced before. The babies needed to fed.

Instead of having an aide help her, Greg decided he needed a shower as well and sent her out of the room. Lucy protested, not ready for him to see her naked yet, but she had no choice. She realized how weak she was when she put her feet on the floor and knew Greg wouldn't let anyone help but him. Slowly, they made their way to the shower.

Lucy just stood there as Greg started the shower and quickly stripped down.

"Come on Lucy." Greg said with a grin as he started to take off the hospital gown.

Liza had packed Lucy's cotton nighties and Lucy couldn't wait to get cleaned up and into clean pajamas, but she couldn't understand why she was suddenly embarrassed to let Greg see her naked. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked while she was still pregnant. Must be hormones.

Greg sensed her hesitation and embarrassment.

"Lucy, you still look beautiful to me. Come on. Our babies await us!" he said as he gently pulled her into the shower with him. Greg gently and lovingly soaped Lucy up, taking extra care with her incision.

Showers done, they dried each other off, and Greg put a dry dressing on Lucy's incision. After running a comb through her wet hair, Lucy put it in a ponytail.

Feeling much better after getting cleaned up, she let Greg lead her to a wheelchair and they headed to the NICU.

Lucy was listening to the instructions the nurse was giving her as she put her son to her breast. He refused it and starting crying, his little face getting red with anger. Lucy was frustrated and became more so when her daughter did the same.

The nurses had seen babies refuse the breast before, but Lucy was on the verge of tears, feeling like a failure until one of the nurses took her aside and showed her how to use a breast pump.

"Dr. House, sometimes babies just refuse the breast, but that doesn't mean they can't have breast milk. You know that. Since these two don't want to breast feed, your husband can help feed the babies. That put a small smile on Lucy's face.

The smile grew bigger as she and Greg each took a baby and they both latched onto the bottles and drained them quickly. They had their father's appetite!

Babies fed, burped and re-diapered, Greg wheeled a much happier Lucy back to her room, where they found her brother, Tony, Liza, Aunt Loretta and Uncle Tony.

After a round of congratulations, the first words out of Loretta's mouth were, "Well, what are you going to name them?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"Aunt Loretta, we haven't discussed it yet. Didn't you say you had already decided on names?" Lucy said with a grin as Greg helped her back into bed.

"Lucy, I know what their names should be" Greg said as he sat on the bed next to her.

Lucy looked at him expectantly, almost fearing what would come out of his mouth.

"Frank and Lina" he said as Lucy smiled from ear to ear. She had hoped to name the babies after her parents, but she wasn't going to insist on it. It was going to be a joint decision. Loretta was speechless. She had the same idea in her head.

So Baby Girl and Boy House became Lina Isabella and Francesco Cristoforo House.


	20. Chapter 20

_**CHAPTER TWENTY **__**- Homecoming**_

Four days later, Lucy and the babies went home, but not before a rather ugly confrontation between Lucy and the hospital lactation counselor which resulted in the counselor losing her job.

She had gotten wind that little Frank and Lina were not being breast fed and was all up in arms. From her point of view, it was a crime not to put your baby to your breast to be fed.

Lucy was having a showdown with her in the NICU when one of the nurses paged Greg. He hurried into the NICU only to find Lucy standing there with her hands on her hips giving Mary Alston holy hell.

"What do you mean I'm a failure as a mother because my babies won't breast feed? These nurses here can testify that they refused to nurse! Should I let them starve to death?" Lucy was seething.

Greg just stood with the nurses smiling broadly. Everything was under control. He actually started a pool to see how long it would take Lucy to get Mary Alston to back down!

"Mrs. House, it is crucial that your babies be nursed as nature intended. Bottle feeding is unnatural." Mary Alston wasn't going to let go. She had "brow-beaten" many young mothers in the past and wasn't about to let this mar her record.

"It's Dr. House if you don't mind, Mrs. Alston, and you still haven't answered my question. Do I let my babies starve until they realize they have to be breast fed?" Lucy said sarcastically. "I'm not sure their reasoning and survival instincts are developed enough yet. I think that happens next week!"

By now several more nurses from the nursery had heard the commotion in NICU and came to watch. None of them liked the bullying tactics Mary Alston used to get mothers to breast feed and this showdown was a long time coming.

"Really, Mrs. House. There's no need to be so dramatic about it. I'm trying to prevent you from making a huge mistake. You're a first-time mother and you don't have the experience to know what's right." Mary Alston flipped right back.

That was the worst move Mary Alston could have made. She was insulting Lucy in the worst way possible by questioning her intelligence and refusing to address her as "Doctor". Lucy boiled over.

"What the hell do you mean I don't have the experience to know what's right for my babies? I know they need to be fed and they are being fed. They are not being denied anything my breast milk will give them! Who the hell do you think you are coming in here and telling me not to feed my babies until they take it from my breasts?"

Lucy had taken a step toward Mary and she involuntarily backed up. She had never come across such strong and determined opposition to her tactics before and she decided it was better to retreat. She would eventually be proven right, or so she thought.

As she turned to leave NICU, she didn't realize there had been an audience witnessing her attempted bullying of Lucy. Greg sneered at her as she pushed her way through the crowd and he headed in to help Lucy feed the twins.

The incident reached the ears of the heads of obstetrics and pediatrics and an investigation was launched into Mary Alston's methods. It was discovered that many of the babies whose mothers had been so frightened of Mary Alston they kept trying to breast feed their babies even though they weren't getting enough to eat. The babies were undernourished and their development had been delayed, fortunately with no lasting consequences.

These facts were not known to Saint Sebastian's until now because the mothers had switched to pediatricians not affiliated with the hospital. They were embarrassed and scared that they apparently couldn't take care of their babies. Knowing the babies only needed proper nutrition, which these mothers obviously wanted to give their children, not one pediatrician turned them in to CYS. They had experience with misguided lactation counselors before. With proper nutrition, the babies began thriving almost immediately. Unfortunately, the hospital wasn't able to track down all the babies and there was no way to tell how much permanent damage was done.

Faced with humiliation and the fact that she had been wrong all these years, Mary Alston jumped at the offer of early retirement. The hospital had been kind in offering her that option rather than firing her outright and filing criminal charges against her.

Lucy and Greg were anxious to get home with their little family and Lucy was already dressed when Greg came to take her home. Greg took Lucy's things to the car and came back for her and the babies.

Lucy was just finishing dressing little Frankie. Liza had chosen identical yellow outfits with matching hats. The outfits were a pale yellow and offended Greg's sense of manliness.

"Why must you dress my son in pastel colors?" Greg whined as Lucy settled in the wheelchair, helping her cradle a baby in each arm.

"Oh, shut up, Greg!" Lucy exclaimed. "Most newborn clothing comes in pastel colors."

"It's not right." Greg grumbled as they got to their SUV and he put the babies in their car seats.

He helped Lucy in and she gingerly buckled her seatbelt. Her incision was still tender.

As they pulled into the garage, Aunt Loretta and Blythe popped out of the kitchen and "kidnaped" both babies, hurrying into the house with them.

Greg and Lucy just stared at each other.

"It's a good thing you had twins!" Greg chuckled.

"When did your mother get in, Greg!" Lucy said shaking her head in amusement.

Greg had barely spoken to his mother since she confessed to him who his father was.

"Last night." he answered as he took their suitcase out of the SUV and helped Lucy into the house. "I didn't think she'd be here so soon."

Lucy didn't say anything. Greg had barely spoken to his mother since she had visited last spring and Lucy had to force him to call her on her birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and he was a little rude to her.

Almost all of Lucy's family was in the house waiting to welcome the newest additions to the family. The heavenly odor of home cooking permeated the house. Loretta must have gotten up before sunrise to cook.

Lucy sat down gingerly, suddenly tired, but absolutely starved.

"Aunt Loretta, what exactly did you make?" Lucy asked, practically drooling from smelling the food.

"I made a little of everything and Blythe helped out too. She made Greg's favorite pot roast and she started to learn to make sauce. Is everyone ready to eat?" Loretta asked as she led everyone into the dining room where she had set up a buffet.

The babies slept through the entire meal in their little carriers. Lucy tried to help clean up afterward as the men went downstairs to watch TV, but Blythe gently sat her back down as Loretta and Lucy's other aunts started the clean up.

"Lucy, dear, let us take care of this. Rest while you can. You'll be chasing two babies soon enough and you'll need the energy!"

"Blythe, I won't be chasing them for months and I can't store energy!" Lucy cried as she sat down again.

The babies started crying. They were hungry.

"Aunt Loretta, can you get that breast pump out of my bag for me?" Lucy asked as she slowly made her way to the bathroom off the kitchen.

"Lucy, I thought you were breast feeding." Loretta asked as she handed the pump to her niece. She hadn't heard about Lucy's showdown with Mary Alston.

"That was the plan, Aunt Loretta, but I have two of the stubbornest babies ever born in Princeton. They refuse to be breast fed." Lucy said as she went into the bathroom to fill the bottles for the babies.

"Didn't you hear about my fight with the lactation counselor?" Lucy called from the bathroom. All Lucy heard was suppressed laughter.

"Lucy, what did you do?" Aunt Loretta asked.

"Aunt Loretta, I didn't "do" anything." Lucy exclaimed. "She was accusing me of being a bad mother because I wouldn't force them to breast feed. I'm supposed to let them starve until they got the idea that a bottle is of the devil or some other nonsense"

"Don't feel too bad, Lucy." Blythe said with smile as she picked up little Frankie. She had been a little miffed when Jim had told her the baby's names, but she quickly got over it. There was really no reason for her grandson to carry John House's name, considering they weren't related by blood, but she had thought they might used her father or grandfather's name. "Greg was a bottle baby, too."

"I'll probably have to supplement the breast milk with formula soon with their appetites." Lucy said as she watched her aunt and mother-in-law expertly feed the babies. Neither woman had lost their touch.

Greg had come upstairs and observed the scene before him. His mother and Loretta feeding the twins and Lucy looking on with a contented smile on her face, but she was fighting to keep her eyes open. She hadn't lied to him in the hospital. Now she had everything she wanted and her life was complete. He still didn't understand why she needed and wanted him in her life, but he was still here and she wasn't letting go. A few more of his insecurities sloughed off.

"Lucy, I think you should take a nap now." Greg said as he helped her out of her chair.

"Greg, I . . . " Lucy never got to finish her sentence. She was completely exhausted, but she didn't want to go to bed, even though the babies were in good hands.

Loretta and Blythe exchanged a knowing look as Greg led Lucy upstairs.

"Lay down on the couch, baby." Greg said as he got some pillows and a blanket.

Lucy stared at him. He hated when she slept on the couch!

"You're just taking a nap. The couch is acceptable." Greg said as he gently stretched Lucy out on the couch and covered her with the blanket. He didn't have to wait long. Lucy fell asleep quickly.

Down in the kitchen, his mother and Blythe had put the babies back in their carriers and were taking care of leftovers. From the looks of it, there was enough food for the next week or so. Lucy wouldn't have to cook. Greg snatched a piece of his mother's pot roast as she was putting it away.

"Mom, please tell Lucy how you make this." Greg said as he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Greg, don't be silly!" Blythe said with a laugh. "Lucy's an excellent cook. Are you trying to tell me she can't make pot roast?"

"It's not like yours, mom." Greg said as he headed back downstairs to the rest of the men. Wilson had started up a poker game and Greg was in the mood to take some of his money away from him.


	21. Chapter 21

_**CHAPTER TWENTY ONE **__**- Life Is Full Of Surprises Right Up To The End**_

Blythe announced her intention to sell the home she had shared with John House and move to Princeton to be near her grandchildren. Lucy insisted she stay with them until she found a place to live, and Greg was not happy. He had expected her to stay in Princeton for a while, which was why he was nice to her when he brought his family home, thinking she would stay in a hotel, which she did when she first got there. Unfortunately, Lucy had other ideas and she stayed with them.

Greg still hadn't come to grips with his mother's past and tried to avoid her at home, keeping conversation with her to a bare minimum. Lucy put her foot down, Greg and Blythe had a very loud argument and it was over. Blythe had actually put her house on the market when she found out Lucy was pregnant, and she got lucky and sold her home for the asking price within a month of her being in Princeton. She moved into a small condo in a senior's complex ten minutes away from Greg and Lucy and was in her new home before the twins were six weeks old. All the years spend being a serviceman's wife paid off in the utmost efficiency.

True to Lucy's prediction, after about two weeks, she had to start supplementing her breast milk with formula. Fortunately, the twins took the formula with as much gusto as they took breast milk because Lucy couldn't produce enough to feed both babies, then her milk dried up completely. Other than to say "sometimes it happens", Burke couldn't say why it happened so quickly. Lucy knew that as well, but was annoyed anyway. Like Greg, she always wanted answers and couldn't accept that there wasn't one to this.

Once she was cleared to drive, Lucy began taking the twins to church. Greg grumbled about it because Saturday and Sunday mornings were quiet times for them once they fed the babies and put them back in their cribs. It was their time to reconnect as a couple.

"Greg, if you don't have any objections to having them baptized in the Catholic church, what is the big deal if I get them used to being there? When they're old enough, they can decide whether they believe, are agnostic or atheist." Lucy said in a querulous tone as she got dressed.

"Lucy, they're not even three months old. They don't even know where they are." Greg pouted as he tried to pull Lucy back in bed with him.

Lucy headed across the hall to get the twins and went downstairs and put them in their car seats.

When she got to church, she got the double stroller out, put the babies in and headed for the Crying Room in the church. The babies were fussing a little, so she rocked the stroller a little to calm them. The door opened. It was Greg and a big smile spread across Lucy's face.

"What made you change your mind?" Lucy asked as Greg took a seat next to her.

"I decided you were right, and I won't turn into a pillar of salt if I'm here, regardless of what I believe." Greg smirked as the Mass began.

He had been planning a surprise for Lucy since he found out she was pregnant. They were going to baptize the twins on Mother's Day, and that would be the day Greg would become Catholic himself. Lucy's parish priest, Father Dan Halloran, was a close friend of her cousin Tony and a pretty mean poker player. He was also open minded about most things and Greg had many a spirited argument with him. During one of these arguments, Greg decided that it wouldn't hurt him to convert to Catholicism for his baby's sake and questioned Dan endlessly about it. Just because he still considered himself an atheist didn't mean he wanted to set a bad example for his baby. Now that he was the father of twins, he was more determined than ever to set a good example for them.

Father Dan agreed to give Greg private instruction under the guise of poker night. Greg's Presbyterian baptism was acceptable for the Church, so he just needed to make his First Communion and Confirmation. It was more than enough that Wilson was his brother-in-law, so Greg couldn't stand the thought of him being his godfather and "spiritual guide". He chose Tony and Liza to be his godparents, and in a situation that had never occurred before, at least in Father Dan's memory, the twins would have eight, count 'em, eight godparents.

All four of Tony's boys had asked to be godfather and Lucy just couldn't choose. She wanted all of them. Both sides of the family would be represented. The Mazzelli side provided the godfathers and the Russo's would provide the godmothers.

On Mother's Day, the babies were baptized and before everyone could leave the church, Father Dan stopped them.

"Friends, please wait a few more minutes. Today I had the pleasure of welcoming two more souls into our flock. Their parents and family have been blessed on this day, but I have one more thing to do before the Mass is over. Today, in addition to welcoming Lina and Frank into the Church, I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming their father as well."

Father Dan smiled as Greg stepped to the altar with Liza and Tony following him. Lucy was speechless. Jim was grinning from ear to ear.

When it was all over and the family had retreated to the church hall for a party, Lucy cornered Greg.

"Why did you do that? I never asked you to!" Lucy was afraid that somehow she had pressured him into this decision, even though he had agreed that the twins should have a religious background.

"Lucy, I know you never asked. When I found out you were pregnant, I thought about it and went to Dan on my own. All those nights you thought I was playing poker at Tony's, I was actually at the Rectory. I'm sorry for going behind your back. I thought you would be happy."

Greg was confused. He thought Lucy was mad and he couldn't understand why. He thought she would be happy. She was. She went up on tiptoe and gave him a kiss that damn near curled his toes!

"I am happy, _**ciuccio**_." she whispered. "I never expected this. I was afraid you did it because I wanted you to.

Lucy had a surprise planned for Greg as well. Greg's birthday and Father's Day were a week apart. They had never taken a real honeymoon, so Lucy went to the hospital's Chief Administrator and scheduled Greg's vacation time with the guarantee he would not know about it until Lucy sprung her surprise.

She booked reservations at the Greenbrier where they got married the first time. They would leave the Friday before Greg's birthday and come back the following Saturday.

But that wasn't Lucy's only surprise. Greg had never stopped grousing about her selling her 'Vette, and she really didn't get why he just wouldn't let go. His reasons for not letting go of the Dodge were sentimental. That she understood, but her 'Vette? He only drove the damn thing once. She went to her brother for answers.

Jim told her all about the debacle with Edward Vogler and how he and Greg had nearly lost their jobs. During Vogler's short tenure at the hospital, Greg was forced to treat Joey Arnello. Joey's big brother Bill had given Greg a red 1965 Corvette convertible in gratitude for diagnosing Joey. Vogler had made Greg return the car, infuriating Bill Arnello to no end. Wasn't it bad enough his only brother was cured in time to testify in court in spite of Greg's delaying tactics and disappear into Witness Protection? Couldn't he show his thanks to Doctor House? (Bill had always had a crush on Lucy, but he didn't know Greg was Lucy's ex at the time. He knew Lucy had an older brother, but that didn't register at the time either. He was too worried about his own brother.)

Lucy knew both Arnello boys from high school. Joey had been in her class and Bill was two years ahead of them. One of Bill's legitimate business ventures was one of the largest car dealerships in Princeton. Lucy gave him a call to see if he could find another car like the one had give Greg.

Bill Arnello was stunned to hear from Lucy. After all these years, he still had a crush on her even though he was married himself and had five children. He never knew Lucy had married and divorced House of all people, left town, only to come back and remarry House and had twins.

At first he wanted to refuse because he thought House was a jerk for letting Lucy go, but he remembered what his partners in an Atlantic City casino had told him about House whenever he visited. House was a high stakes poker player, but he was rarely sober when he visited the casino. His behavior led Bill's partners to believe he was punishing himself for something, even though he either won big or broke even. He never lost, but he was never satisfied.

Arnello figured the guy had been punished enough and he did save Joey's life. It was an unpaid debt, and the Arnello's always paid their debts. He found the exact car and agreed to keep it at his dealership until Lucy was ready to spring her surprise. The only ones who knew were her brother, the team, Aunt Loretta & Blythe. Loretta & Blythe were going to watch the twins while Lucy and Greg were at the Greenbrier.

The Friday before Greg's birthday was the same as any other had been since the twins were born. They had quickly settled into a comfortable routine with the babies. They would both get up in the night to feed them and in the morning, they both went into the nursery to change their diapers and take them downstairs to feed them. Greg would play with the babies afterward while Lucy made their breakfast. Around eight thirty or so, Greg would reluctantly leave for work, sometimes passing his mother or whoever was coming to help Lucy with the twins on his way out.

Once he was gone, Lucy moved fast. Aunt Loretta and Blythe arrived at the same time. While they fussed over the babies and tried to clean an already spotless kitchen, Lucy ran upstairs to pack, making sure she had enough memory cards for her camera. She had become as much of a shutterbug as her father and cousin Tony since she came home.

When Lucy came downstairs, Jim was already there waiting to take her over to Bill Arnello's dealership and follow her to the hospital. He wanted to see the expression on House's face when he saw the car, and of course Lucy was going to make him take pictures.

Lucy pulled up in front of the hospital and waited for her brother to catch up to her. The hospital had angle parking in the front and as soon as her brother pulled in next to her, Lucy got out and looked around for someone to deliver the birthday/Father's day card to Greg. She spotted an orderly having a smoke and ran over to him and gave him fifty dollars to deliver the envelope to Greg. She went back to the car and sat cross-legged on the hood, waiting impatiently. Jim stood by ready with Lucy's camera.

Up in his office, Greg looked at the orderly who just handed him the envelope with Lucy's spikey purple scrawl on it.

"I don't know what's going on, Doc." the orderly replied to Greg's question of "What the hell is this?"

"Your wife just gave me fifty dollars to deliver it. Don't shoot the messenger!" The orderly left, smothering the smile on his face. He decided to go back outside to see Greg's reaction to the car his wife bought for him.

Greg slowly opened the card, expecting it to explode in a puff of smoke. Foreman, Taub and Chase were watching from the conference room. Once Greg left the office, it was their responsibility to pack his things up and bring them out to the car.

Greg opened the card and a leather key fob with "Vette" imprinted in gold fell on the desk. He read the card.

_Dear Daddy,_

_Happy Father's Birthday!_

_We think you're the bestest Daddy in the whole world and we love you very much. We hope this surprise is what you want._

_Now Mommy says get your sorry ass downstairs now or she'll take your present back._

_XX OO_

_Frankie & Lina_

Greg shook his head, puzzled. The key fob didn't give him a clue. He stuck it in his pocket and went downstairs.

When he got outside, he saw a crowd of people around a car. At first, he thought possibly someone was hurt, but he caught sight of his brother-in-law. Then as more people moved away, he saw a sight that would stay with him forever. Lucy, sitting cross-legged on the hood of the very same 'Vette that he had to give up. His mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe it.

Greg walked around the car touching it to make sure it was real.

"Stop putting your greasy paw prints on this car, Greg! I just had it detailed!" Lucy said with a giggle as she watched her husband's face as Jim snapped away with Lucy's camera.

Greg finally stopped in front of the car where Lucy was still perched.

"Like it?" Lucy asked with an impish grin.

"Lucy, how . . .?" Greg stuttered. How could Lucy have possibly known about this car or who had given it to him?

"Greg, Jim told me all about it. I never told you I went to high school with the Arnello boys, did I?" Lucy answered. "I just got in touch with Bill and he did the rest. The only "difference" between this car and the one he gave you before is Sirius radio." Lucy said as she happily watched the myriad of expressions pass across her husband's face. This was one time he couldn't keep his poker face on!

"Why did you bring this here?" Greg wondered.

"Do you remember how to get to the Greenbrier, Greg?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, why?" Greg still didn't get what she was up to.

"Well, you still owe me a honeymoon, _**ciuccio**_, so we're taking one!" Lucy was grinning from ear to ear.

"Lucy, I didn't schedule any time off!" Greg exclaimed.

"Yes, you did, Stretch, or rather I did!" Lucy had a mischievous smile on her face. "Let's get a move on!"

Before Greg could say he needed his backpack, Chase handed it to him. Still speechless, he tossed the backpack into the car and got in.

Lucy slid off the hood and tossed the keys to Greg. "Hurry up!" she said as Greg slid behind the wheel, started the car and they took off for their long delayed honeymoon.

They made it to the Greenbrier in a little less than six hours. Lucy never once offered to take a turn driving, wanting Greg to enjoy the car. She would drive on the way home, no matter what he said. Why should he have all the fun?

They checked into their room around five thirty and took a long, lazy shower before they ordered room service. Lucy had given Greg an unbelievable massage in the shower that practically turned him to Jell-O, even massaging the kinks out of his bad leg.

In the past, anyone seeing or touching his bad leg had always bothered Greg, and for the most part, he had taken almost extreme measures to hide it from everyone, but Lucy didn't give him an option when he was in the hospital.

Once she got over her shock of seeing how much damage had been done, she dismissed it, focusing on helping Greg find ways to relieve his pain. The massages were either part of foreplay or just a massage if Lucy knew he was in a little more pain than usual or just tired. Regardless of the reason, Greg looked forward to these massages almost as much as he looked forward to making love to his wife.

Once they were finished drying each other off, they donned the big fluffy hotel robes and ordered room service. Their dinner arrived in less than ten minutes, along with a complimentary bottle of champagne. Lucy got giggly drunk on the champagne and Greg enjoyed it.

Before Greg had a chance to kiss her and do the horizontal mambo, Lucy jumped up off the couch.

"Where the hell are you going, Lucy?" Greg was annoyed.

"I have one more surprise, shut up!" Lucy ran over to her suitcase, pulled out a plastic bag and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"Damn it!" Greg said as he polished off his champagne.

The bathroom door opened.

Lucy was standing there with her hands innocently held behind her back, but what she was wearing made Greg draw a sharp breath. She was wearing the negligee she had worn the first time they came here. He walked over to her.

"You kept this all this time?" he whispered as he kissed her.

"Look what else I kept!" Lucy giggled as she held out the pair of purple satin boxers Greg had worn, albeit temporarily, that night. Greg threw his head back and laughed.

"You have to put them on." Lucy said with a giggle.

"Aw, Lucy! You've got to be kidding! I'm already naked and you want me to get dressed?" Now Greg was frustrated.

Lucy had enough champagne in her not only to make her giggly, but to flip her ornery switch on as well.

"Greg, if you don't put those shorts on, I'm going to find a room for myself tonight, rent a car and go home tomorrow! By myself!"

Greg stared at her. "You're serious, aren't you?" he said in amazement.

"Damn right I'm serious!" Lucy said.

Greg knew his ornery wife and went into the bathroom and came out wearing the boxers.

"That's much better." Lucy giggled as she pulled him down on the bed.

Their hands roamed all over and very soon, negligee & boxers had been tossed across the room.

Greg drew the lovemaking out for as long as Lucy could stand it. When she started begging, he slowly slid inside her as she drew her legs up around his hips as they found their rhythm once again. Greg moved faster as Lucy moaned, finally falling over the edge. Greg couldn't hold back and finally let go, spilling himself into Lucy and burying his face in her neck. Lucy felt a teat roll down his cheek.

"Greg, sweetheart, what's wrong?" she said as they both slowly returned to earth.

"Lucy, I, I." Greg couldn't put his emotions into words.

"Oh, my beautiful husband. You're happy. It's all right. You're learning to go with the ups and downs of life and realizing that even if you get bit in the ass, it's not the end of the world. This is what you were looking for when you came to Princeton. You can be yourself, caro, and still be happy.

All Greg could do was nod his head in agreement and wrap his arms tightly around Lucy as they fell asleep.

And Lucy was right. As time went on, he became even more content, taking an early retirement from medicine. He didn't need the puzzle anymore. He had his family, something he had always craved.

A year later, Loretta had her way and Greg and Lucy had the church wedding Frank and Lina would have given them had they lived. Once again, Lucy surprised Greg by wearing the dress she had worn the first time they got married.

Lucy and Greg raised their children together. There were dance lessons and baseball and other sports practices and events to shuttle Frankie & Lina to. Frankie was as tall as his father and became a standout basketball player in highschool, drawing the attention of many college scouts. Frankie listened to them and turned them all down, always knowing he was going to be a doctor.

Greg taught both children the piano and guitar. He was there for Lina's first crush and first break up which wasn't as angsty as he thought it would be, but after thinking about it, he decided Lina's reaction was normal for her. She was her mother from head to toe as Frankie was like him.

When Lina got married, it broke his heart to lose his little girl, but he walked her down the aisle with a smile. He and Lucy eventually became grandparents to five, three boys and two girls.

One day, Greg was laying down in the family room watching TV. Lucy and Lina came in to wake him. They were all supposed to go out to dinner.

Lucy entered the room first and she heard Greg draw a deep breath, then nothing. She ran over and began doing CPR as Lina called 911, but it was too late. Greg House, loving husband, father and grandfather, was gone. He was ninety years old. Lucy was inconsolable. They had been married nearly forty years.

Five years later, Lucy herself passed quietly in her sleep.

In death, Lucy's still lovely face had settled into almost a satisfied smile, which everyone remarked on.

Frankie, atheist like his father, gave everyone the same answer, drawing a smile from his sister every time he said it.

"She found Dad again."

This story is dedicated to

Gregory House, M.D.

Department of Diagnostic Medicine

November 16, 2004 - May 21, 2012

And to Hugh Laurie, the marvelous actor who brought this character to life for the past eight seasons. I can't thank you enough for your portrayal of Gregory House. I don't recall any character in any show I've ever been a fan of that held my attention so much as he did If any other actor had been cast in this role, I don't think the show would have been nearly as good and I wouldn't have paid much attention to it.

Mondays will be truly boring after May 21st without the presence of House on my TV! I would have like the show to continue on a few seasons longer, but Hugh Laurie has other destinies to fulfill! I'll be on the lookout for reviews of his concert tour and hope I get the privilege of seeing him perform in person. And of course another Blues CD!

I hope that the idea of House fan fiction lives on in this little corner of the Internet even though the show has ended. To that end, I would like to recommend the following writers on this site who have allowed me to call them "friend" and are excellent writers. Their stories are well-written, and researched. They've kept to the basic premise that House is looking for happiness but convinced he doesn't deserve it. They've kept House's snark alive but show him that in the end, happiness it not as elusive as he thinks he is or David Shore wanted it to be for the character. My portrayal of Greg House may be considered out of character by some, but I don't think so. This is what I think House could be if it hadn't already been determined that House would never have happiness for long. I only hope I've learned something from these girls as I continue to try and write House fan fiction.

Brigid45

Glenlivet19

gorblimey2

highlandmum

laniki

Pyewacket75 (a.k.a. the Queen of Smex!)

Snarkland78

SpidEMcD


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